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Mr. & Mrs. Joseph
FITZPATRIC K
A HISTORY OF THE VENERABLE
ENGLISH COLLEGE, ROME
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THE FRONT OF THE COLLEGE
[To face p. 23 1 .
A HISTORY
VENERABLE
COLLEGE,
OF THE'
ENGLISH
ROME
AN ACCOUNT OF ITS ORIGINS AND WORK
FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO -
THE PRESENT DAY
BY
CARDINAL GASQUET
WITH ILLUSTRATIONS
LONGMANS, GREEN AND CO.
39 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON
J'OURTH AVENUE & 80m STREBT, NBW YORK:
:BOMBAY. CALCUTTA, AND MAD:&.4S
1920
AOOWBROOK UBRAR'<
SH X "I1ASSACHUSETTS
LENO , I'
- )..
I\\jG '2.1 \<j
1
TO THE
ALUMNI OF THE
VENERABLE ENGLISH COLLEGE, ROME
PAST AND PRESENT
THIS HISTORY OF THEIR ALMA MATER
IS DEDICATED BY
A. CARDINAL GASQUET
PREFACE
THIS vohnne must not be taken as furnishing a full and
cOlnplete history of the Venerable English College in ROlne.
The material which exists is so abundant and the names of
those who, in one way or another, have been connected with
the Establishn1ent from the earliest period of the old English
Hospice are so numerous and distinguished-many of
them, indeed, illustrious-that to do adequate justice to
the story a work of much greater length would be required.
I have, however, tried to set down what I conceive to be
the main features of the history, as I could gather them
from a rapid survey of the material existing in the Archives
of the Venerabile and elsewhere. My inln1ediate purpose
was to prepare a record for the celebration J)f the centenary
of the re-opening of the College in 1818. Circumstances
arising out of the Great It World-War" made the celebra-
tion impossible at the time, and these pages are now pub-
lished in the hope that, until something better is given to
the public by one who can devote more time to the work
than I have been able to do, they may serve to awaken
or keep alive the nlemory of the history of what I believe
to be one of the most interesting--if, indeed, not the most
interesting-of the English Institutions on the continent of
Europe.
Fortunately, when the College was seized and pillaged
by the French at the close of the eighteenth century, when
the Republican troops took possession of Rome, a faithful
friend was able to carry a wa y and hide the archives. On
the restoration of the College in 1818 these valuable papers
were all returned to the authorities. Among the documents
thus happily preserved are several hundred original Papal
Bulls and parchment deeds, which go back to the very
beginning of the English Pilgrims' Hostel in the fourteenth
vii
viii
PREFACE
century. During the period between the establishment
of the present College, on the site of the old Hospice, by
Pope Gregory XIII and the close of the eighteenth century,
these muniments were well cared for; and at one time,
about the close of the eighteenth century, a carefully planned
and well written Index of the entire contents of the College
Archivium was Inade in six large volumes, which still exist.
The early account books of the old Pilgrim Hospice of
St. ThOlnas and those of the sister Establishment of St.
Edmund, King and Martyr, in the Trastevere, subsequently
merged into that of St. Thonlas, are naturally full of archæo-
logical interest. A complete set of books, covering the whole
period of the existence of the college from its foundation to
its destruction by the French, are still preserved on the
shelves in the Archives room, where also may be found a
long series of registers in which are recorded various
business transactions in regard to the administration of
the College property. All these would furnish many items of
considerable interest and would repay careful examination.
Besides these, more or less official volumes, there exists a
large collection of original letters dating from the middle of
the sixteenth century, and a nunlber of important MS.
books and tracts, some of them connected with the College
or written by authors who were members of the Establish-
ment at the time. For exan1ple, what would appear to be
the original copy of Harpsfield's Historia Anglicana Eccle-
siastica is amongst the treasures in this collection, and two
other volumes are of special interest and importance;
namely, the College Diary and the Pilgrim Book. The
former records the names and gives details of the students
of the College, many of whom gave their lives for the Faith
during the years when the Catholic religion was proscribed
in England. This has been printed and edited, although not
very carefully, by Brother Foley in his volume of Records oj
the English Province S.J., which deals with the English
College at Rome. I have not hesitated to TIlake use of his
1 abours , and hereby acknowledge my great indebtedness to
him for all that concerns the students. Also this diligent
labourer has edited in the same volume the second book
to which I refer-the Pilgrim Book. In tills are registered
PREFACE
ix
the names of the English Visitors, who came to Rome
and naturally to the English College during the sixteenth,
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
Besides, once for all acknowledging my indebtedness to
the late Brother Foley, S.J., I desire to express my thanks
for the help given me by Mgr. Mann, the Rector of the Bede
College in Rome, who not only read through the MS. and
suggested corrections and additions, but also has furnished
me with the story of the Sc/zola A llglorm1Z in Rome, which
forms the first chapter of this volume. Mr. Short of the
English College has helped me very much in the illustrations
of this volume, and I desire to express to him n1Y thanks,
as well as to Dr. Ashby and Mrs. Strong of the British
School in Rome, from whom I had received much help and
encouragement. Lastly, I am greatly indebted to the Lord
Bishop of Clifton, who has read the proof sheets and
suggested several additions and corrections.
A. CARD. GASQUET
Rome,
Pala,:zo di S. Calisto in Trastevere.
June 19 1 9.
CONTENTS
CHAP. PAGE
PREFACE VÜ
I. THE SCHOLA ANGLORUM 1
II. THE ENGLISH HOSPICE. 26
III. THE FOUNDATION OF THE COLLEGE 62
IV. A PERIOD OF UNREST . 79
V. THE JESUITS RULE THE VENERABILE 10 7
VI. SALVETE FLORES MARTYRUM 118
VII. CONFESSORESQUE LUCIDI 147
VIII. THE COLLEGE IN THE SECOND CENTURY OF ITS
EXISTENCE . 168
IX. PUBLIC DISPUTATIONS AND SERMONS 181
X. THE U PILGRIM BOOK" 194
XI. DESTRUCTION AND RECONSTRUCTION 2 0 3
XII. THE COLLEGE UNDER DR. WISEMAN 223
CONCLUSION 247
INDEX 273
Xl
LIST OF ILLUSTRAI'IONS
THE FRONT OF THE COLLEGE.
Tofaceþage
Frolllispiece
THE FIRE IN THE BORGO, IN WHICH THE SCHOLA ANGLORUM
WAS DESTROYED 12
From a PhotograPh by A1tdersoll.
MONUMENT TO ARCHBISHOP BAINBRIDGE. 49
THE MONUMENT TO BP. JOHN CLERK 51
CARDINAL POLE 54
CARDINAL POLE'S BOOK OF ACCOUNTS 57
THE OLD ENGLISH HOSPICE 61
CARDINAL ALLEN . 9 1
ARISTOTLE . 9 2
From Bronze Plaque.
MONTE PORZIO 116
THE UPPER GALLERY 117
BISHOP R. GRADWELL, D.D. 20 7
From a PaÙzting at the English College, Rome.
THE COLLEGE STAIRCASE 2 1 3
DR. WISEMAN 223
From a PailltÙzg by Furse at the English College, Rome
THE COLLEGE LIBRARY . 244
CHURCH OF mE ENGLISH COLLEGE 26 4
xii
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
CHAPTER I
THE SCHOLA ANGLORUM
\VHEN an Englishman, especially if he be a student of the
Venerable College of the English in Rome, who has th
least
interest in the fortunes of his fellow-countrymen in the
Eternal City, has learnt that the scholastic home of many
of thenl is the heir of a mediæval hospice, he must naturally
wish to know sonlething of the institution from which this
College has sprung.! A little investigation will reveal to
him that the said hospice was founded in the fourteenth
century in order to minister to the wants of English visitors
and pilgrinls to the religious centre of the world. Should
he push his enquiries a little further, he will find that this
hospice of St. ThOll1as had itself been instituted to replace
a former one which had been erected sonle six centuries
before to serve the same purpose. Filled then perchance
with laudable pride that an existing English institution
in Rome should be so closely connected with so large a
portion of the religious history of his race, he may wish to
learn if anything is known of this earlier hospice, the founda-
tion of which would thus seem to date from the first days
of the conversion of his countrymen. It is to satisfy such
an enquirer that this chapter has been written.
It was, as is well known, at the very close of the sixth
century that Pope Gregory the Great sent from the monas-
tery of St. Andrew, which he had founded on the Cælian
hill, the Benedictine abbot St. Augustine with a number
of monks to convert the Angles and Saxons of England.
1 A large portion of this chapter appeared in the Tablet of Oct. 1913.
and is used here with its kind permission.
B
2
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
The labours of these apostles, helped in turn by other mis-
sionaries from Rome, from Gaul, and fron1 the little isle of
Iona, were most successful. Before the lapse of a century
the fierce Anglo-Saxons who had exterminated the faith of
Christ in Roman Britain had themselves accepted it. Like
the Franks, they bowed before what they had previously
burnt. But long before the conversion of the whole of
England, the stream of pilgrims and visitors from it to Rome
had begun to flow.
There was one city in the world at least that was known
by every barbarian in Europe. The might of Rome had
impressed itself indelibly upon them. But its name for
many ages inspired theln for the most part with only a
feeling of hatred for its oppressions. They longed to destroy
it, and they succeeded but too well in wrecking its material
power. Gradually, however, they found that the City
whose marvellous might they had brought to naught, was
putting forth a spiritual power which they could not resist.
Again, then, the \vish came upon then1 to TIlake Rome their
goal. But now it was the wish of their hearts to pray where
they had scoffed, to bring back their gold, frankincense and
myrrh to the City from which they had plundered so much.
I t is impossible to say who were the first of our Christian
countrynlen who first nlade their way to Ronle to pray at the
shrines of the Apostles, to do homage to the successor of
the great Pontiff who had sent apostles to convert then1,
and, no doubt, to look upon the fanlous City which they
had been taught first to hate and afterwards to love. If,
however, we are prepared to accept the words of Eddi, the
enthusiastic biographer of St. \Vilfrid of Hexhanl, it was
that ardent soul who was the first Christian Englishman to
make the U Ronle journey." Possibly he was the first
distinguished Englishman who went to Rome. IIis first
visit was as early as the nliddle of the seventh century
(c. 654). Although later on he betook himself to the Eternal
City to obtain from the Pope that ecclesiastical justice which
he could not secure in his own land, we may be sure that in
his first visit to Rome, he was influenced by other motives
than the search after justice. He may then be usefully
thought of as the first English pilgrim to Rome.
THE SCHOLA ANGLORUM
3
At any rate, we know that the exan1ple set by hinl of
visiting Rome was certainly followed; and, long before even
the seventh century had run its course, every class of
English society sent many of its menlbers to Rome. Thither
went on pilgrimage, says Venerable Bede, U noble and sinlple,
men and ''''omen, soldiers and private persons, moved by the
instinct of divine love"; 1 or, as St. Boniface, the Apostle
of Germany, expresses it, English people U left their country's
shores, and trusted thelTIselves to the ways of the sea, and
sought the shrines of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul." 2
l\lany, however, went to Rome not merely as pilgrirns.
Some, as for instance St. Wilfrid himself, went to the Eternal
City to carry canonical appeals to the Pope or to learn the
ecclesiastical discip1ine of Rome. l\lany, too, went for
purposes of study,S to learn music, or to gain an insight into
other branches of art. For we nlust never lose sight of the
fact that the arts were cultivated at RODle throughout the
whole of the IVIiddle Ages, and that, too, even during its
darkest days in the tenth century. Even the art of paint-
ing did not, as is still believed by some, owe its glorious
renaissance in the fourteenth century to Florence. That
fortunate city received its artistic inspiration fron1 Rome,
fronl Pietro Cavallini. 4 Our countrynlen, then, often went
to Rome in the :l\Iiddle Ages to study art; they went there
also to buy books,s to purchase articles of vÙtu,6 and to
procure workers in wood, stone and glass. 7 They went
there, in short, for humanitas in the fullest sense of that
comprehensive word. Of the Jmmanitas which Dlen found
in Rome we have some striking examples. In the days of
Pope Leo IX there went to Ron1e Thorfinn, Earl of the
1 De sex ætat., 720; Hist. Eccles., v. 7.
z Ep, 14 of St. Boniface ap. Mon. Germ., Epp. III.
:I Bede, v. 19; Vitæ Abbat., nn. 2, 18.
t See Crowe and Cavalcaselle, Hist. oj Paintings, i. p. 53 n.
6 Bede, Vitæ, nn. 4, I I.
6 The famous Henry, Bp. of 'Winchester, brother of King Stephen
.. veteres statuas emit Rome." John of Salisbury, Hist. Pontif., 39 ap. M.,
S.SS., xx. Cf. vito S. Abbo" c. II, ap. P.L., t. 139.
7 Vitæ, nn. 6, 9. Our Henry III brought artists of .. Cosimati .. work
to decorate 'Westminster Abbey. The cornice of the Confessor's tomb
displays (1279): .. Petrus, Civis Romanus .. and its basement" Odericus
Romanus." Lethaby, Medieval Art, pp. 259, 282 f.
4
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
Orkneys, who did not get his title of the H raven-feeder"
without terrible cause. After his visit to Rome and his
interview with the Pope, this ferocious sea-king on his return
home U sat down quietly, and kept peace over all his realm.
Then he left off warfare, and turned his mind to ruling the
people and the land, and to law-giving." Our great King
Canute himself put on record in his famous letter to the
English people what a civilising effect the" humanity" of
Rome had had upon hin1. The still greater Charlemagne
effected his gigantic work for the uplifting of his enonnous
empire through his contact with Rome.
For this hll'manitas our countrymen sought Rome, in
spite of the serious dangers and difficulties that nearly always
beset the journey thither. At one time it was the Lango-
bardorum immanitas that had to be feared. Later on in the
tenth century it was the savage Saracen. More than once
will be found in the Chronicler Frodoard entries like the
following: In the year 923 "a great number of English,
on their way to the threshold of the Apostles for the sake
of prayer, were slain by the Saracens in the Alps." Still
later, especially after the reforms inaugurated by Hildebrand
(Gregory VII) in the eleventh century, the dissensions
between the Papacy and the Empire brought great dangers
to the pilgrinl. The Emperors set up antipopes, and their
followers showed little mercy to the unhappy traveller whonl
they caught making his way to Rome or to the true Pope.
One of our old chroniclers 1 has left us an anlusing él.ccount
of a journey 2 to Italy of the monk Sampson of Bury St.
Edmunds during the time of the antipopes set up by the
Emperor Frederic I, Barbarossa, against Alexander III
(c. 1160).
Owing to the perpetual strife throughout the Middle
Ages between ourselves and our neighbours, the Scots, it
was the rule that, if there was any schism in the Church,
and the English acknowledged one Pope, the Scotch acknow-
ledged his rival. At the time of which we are treating, the
English acknowledged Alexander III. Accordingly, Samp-
son, who had to pass through parts of Italy in the hands of
the antipope in order to reach Alexander, feigned to be a
1 Jocelin of Brakelond. Cf. p. 14. I A.D. 1159-1162.
THE SCHOLA ANGLORUM
5
Scotchman, for he was in danger, says the chronicler, (I of
being hanged or incarcerated, or of having his nose and lips
cut off, and of being in that condition sent to Pope Alexander
for his shame and confusion." When questioned, he talked
gibberish in a kind of English, brandished his staff as the
Scotch did their ga velocs or pikes, and also, after their
manner, so we are told, used threatening language. By
these devices he reached Rome, and procured from Alexander
the written privileges of which he was in quest. With these
he set out on his return journey rejoicing. But, so he told
the story himself, he was seized by the officers of a certain
castle, who declared that he was either a spy or was bearing
letters from the false Pope Alexander. It But," continues
Sampson, H whilst they were searching my ragged clothes,
my leggings and breeches, and even the old shoes which I
carried over my shoulders after the manner of the Scotch,
I thrust nlY hand into the little wallet which I carried,
wherein was contained the writing of our Lord the Pope,
which was close by a little jug which I used for drinking
purposes. Then, the Lord God and St. Edmund so per-
mitting, I drew out the writing, together with the jug, and,
extending nlY arm aloft, I held the writ underneath the jug.
They could see the jug plain enough, but they did not notice
the writ. But whatever money I had about me they took
away, and so I had to beg from door to door till I arrived
in EngJand."
AlnlOst as fatal to the pilgrim to Rome were the elements.
Ice and snow waylaid the travellers over the Mons J ovis-
the great pass of St. Bernard. A monk of Canterbury 1 has
left us a vivid picture of the awe with which the peaks and
precipices of the Alps inspired him, and he writes to tell
his brethren in England how his ink which he carried in a
little bottle at his girdle all froze solid, and how his very
breath froze on his beard. Hence it is not surprising to
read of one of our Archbishops of Canterbury, Elfsy, being
1 Giraldus Cambrensis, too, speaks feelingly of the precipices, snows
and robbers of the Alps, and tells uS that the people in the vale of Spoleto
were astonished at his safe crossing of them. .. Qui Alpes illas prædonibus
et periculis plenas sic indemnis pertransivit." Gp. vol. iii. p. 241, Rolls
Series.
6
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
frozen to death in the Alps (c. 958) when on his way for his
pallium.
The sea, too, when it did not drown the unfortunate
tra veller made him often dreadfully miserable. An English
poenl of the fifteenth century, published by the Early
English Text 1 Society, gives a most graphic and humorous
description of the horrors of a long sea voyage. For, a
we
shall again have occasion to note, many of our countrymen
went the whole way to Rome by water. The poem tells
how unfortunate pilgrims were pushed about by the sailors,
who found, or pretended to find them in the way when they
were working the ship, and who, with their usual contempt
for land lubbers, took pleasure in bantering thenl when they
were in the agonies of sea-sickness. The Captain cries :-
Hale the bowe lyne I Now, rere the shete I
Cooke, make redy anoon our mete,
Our pylgryms have no lust to ete.
I pray God give them rest.
The sailors, too, make them more miserable by suggesting
an approaching storm :-
Then cometh oone and seyth: Be mery
Ye shall have a storm or a pery (squall).
Nevertheless, despite these and many other difficulties
and dangers, 2 our countrynlen not only went to Rome in
large TIuTIlbers during the :Middle Ages, but went there over
and over again. Benedict Biscop, the energetic abbot of
St. Peter's at 1Ionkwearmouth, who did so llluch to illuilline
our north country, went to Rome no less than five tilnes.
In a word, so regular was the intercourse of our mediæval
countrymen with Rome that our earliest national chronicler,
in connection with the year 889, thought it worth recording
that H there was no journey to ROlne, except that King
1 The Stations oj Rome, p. 35 fl. The various difficulties of the Roman
journey are summed up by Hildebert of Le Mans" in libro suo epistolari."
.. Nobis Romam profecturis tempus hyeme suspectum, nivibus Alpes,
incrementis aquæ, vinculis imperator, seditionibus civitas, exactione
palatium (Lateran). Sane omnia hæc orationibus evacuari posse credimus,
solam vero exactionem nec oratione nec jejunio temperari." Quoted by
Giraldus Camb., Speculum Eccles., iv. 18, Op, iv. p. 3 0 1.
I Cf. Jusserand, EnglishlWayJaring LiJe, p. 257.
THE SCHOLA ANGLORUM
7
Alfred sent two couriers with letters." 1 Unfortunately,
however, even though, as Bede says, it was thought "a
thing of great virtue to go to Rome," 2 not all who left
England for Rome got virtue of any kind from the journey.
Sometimes the pilgrims were only dishonest traders who
assumed the dress of the palmer, in order to escape paying
the tolls which were gradually relaxed in favour of the
bona fide pilgri1n. 3 A much worse evil was the number of
women, both nuns and others, who got themselves into
disgrace when abroad through want of money or proper
protection, not to say through any evil inclinations of their
own. So serious was this evil that our countryInan, St.
Boniface, the falnous apostle of Gern1any, when writing to
the authorities at home, stated that there was scarcely a
city in Lon1bardy, Frankland (Francia) or Gaul in which
there was not an Englishwoman leading a notoriously bad
life ! 4
Fortunately, from the very earliest times, among those
who took a keen interest in the" Rome journey" were the
Anglo-Saxon rulers themselves, and they proved both able
and willing to supply some remedy for these evils. The
first of our Kings who made up his n1Ïnd to go to Rome was
Oswin, our great Northumbrian sovereign.5 Death, however
(670), prevented him from carrying out his intention. 6 But
the first English King actually to go to Rome was Cædwalla,
King of the "Vest Saxons, who died there, as he had wished,
immediately after his baptism (689). His epitaph, now
lost, was to be seen for many centuries in the portico of
old St. Peter's and was not unfrequelltly copied by the more
curious pilgrinls. It was composed by Benedict, the con-
temporary Archbishop of Milan. Buried ill some way along
with the ton1b (area) on which it was cut, it was recently,
says John de Deis, dug up by those who were building the
present St. Peter's.7 Coinred, King of the :Mercians, and
Offa, the heir to the throne of the East Saxons, went
1 Ang,-Sax. Chron., 889. I Hist. Eccles., iv. 14.
8 Ep. Charlemagne, II, ap. Ja:ffé, Mon. Carol" p. 357.
4 Ep., ap. M., G. Epp., iii. 78 (middle of eighth century).
6 Bede, iv. 5. 6 Ib. v. 7.
7 Successores S. Barnabæ Ap., f. 23, Rome, 1589, ap. De Rossi,
Inscript. Christianæ, II. pt. i. p. 70, n. 40.
8
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
together, not many years after; and both, according to
the phrase of Bede, l "became monks at the shrine of the
apostles" (709), and both died in Rome. Others of our
Princes followed their exan1ple.
Among these others was Ina, the successor of Cædwalla.
\Vhen he had reigned over the \Vest Saxons for thirty-seven
years (688-725) he also resigned his kingdom, and to use
the words of Bede, "went to Rome to visit the shrines of
the blessed Apostles. . . being desirous to spend some time
of his pilgrimage upon earth in the neighbourhood of holy
places, that he n1Ïght be more easily received by the saints
into heaven."
This visit of Ina proved of lasting importance, for he
founded the Schola Anglorum. At least, such is the asser-
tion of Matthew Paris. It is true he is only a late authority,
but nothing can be urged against the substantial accuracy
of his staten1ents, and as will be apparent later on, the author
on whom Paris is here resting, was alive at a time when
special attention had been called in England to the Schola
by vain appeals made to it to save their national centre in
Rome from ruin. :Moreover, contemporary evidence of the
early ninth century proves that the Schola Anglorum was
certainly in existence in the eighth century. What then is
the precise testimony of Matthew Paris? These are his
words: "\Vhen Ina arrived in Rome he built a house, with
the a pproval of Pope Gregory (II), which he called the
School of the English (Scholam Anglorum). This he did
in order that the kings of England and the Royal family
with the bishops and priests and clergy might come to it to
be instructed in learning and in the Catholic faith, lest
anything Inight be taught in the English Church which was
heterodox (sin'istrum) or opposed to Catholic unity. Thus
they would return home thoroughly strengthened in the
faith." "Moreover," continues the Monk of St. Albans,
" Ina built near the aforesaid house a church in honour of
the Blessed Virgin Mary in which the divine mysteries
1 V. 7. Cf. William of Malmesbury, De Gest, reg., ii. c. 2, for Ina's
sojourn in Rome, and the device by which his queen Ethelburga induced
him to give up the luxuries of a throne. He, ib., attributes the foundation
of the Schola A ngloyu11Z to Offa. King of the Mercians.
THE SCHOLA ANGLORUJl.l
9
might be celebrated for the English who came to Rome, and
in which such of them as might die in Ron1e might be buried.
Finally, in order that his work might be lasting, it was
ordained by a decree of the Witan (generali decreto) that,
throughout the whole kingdom of the \Vest Saxons, every
family should every year send to Blessed Peter and the
Ronlan Church one dena1'ius (or silver penny) (which is
known in English as Romescot), in order that the English
who resided there might have a means of support." 1
According, therefore, to
Iatthcw Paris, or really according
to John of the Cell (d. 1214) wholll he is quoting, Ina founded
in Rome a theological school in the modern sense of a school,
a hospice and a church, and instituted Peter's Pence.
Now it is no doubt probable that there may be son1e
exaggeration in these statenlents, and that Paris or John
of the Cell llmy have attributed to Ina all the developments
of the School which were in existence just before his own
time, and which were really the work of several successive
English rulers. 2 But there is no reasonable room for doubt
that a substantial beginning of the Anglo-Saxon quarter
in Rome was made by Ina himself.
:Moreover, the story of Ina's connection with the English
School receives some confirmation from Roman tradition.
For to this day you will find in the Church of San Spirito in
Sassia, which occupies the site of the Church of Our Lady
in Sassia (S. Maria in Sass2.a, or ScJwla Anglorum), an ancient
picture of our l.ady which, according to Roman tradition,
was given to the church by King Ina. The picture is, at
any rate, declared to be of the seventh or eighth century,
and a seventeenth century inscription on the wall of the
church not far frolll the picture sets fOlih that the Canons
of St. Peter dedicated a golden crown to it, as it had been
preserved from the fires in the days of Pope Paschal I and
of Pope Leo IV, and as it was fan10us by reason both of its
1 II Vitale subsidium." Matthew Paris, Chron. Maj., an. 727, i. 330 f.
Rolls Series. On Ina's connection with Peter's Pence, see also the
document II De Saxonum Adventu " inserted in Simeon of Durham, ii. 371,
Rolls Series.
z 73 8 , Queen Frithogith of the '\-Vest Saxons retires to Rome. Henry of
Huntingdon, I. iv. sub. an. 736, and Florence of Worcester, an. 737.
10
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
age and of the miracles worked in connection with it.! In
the sacristy of this same church 2 there are a nun1ber of
frescoes which show what was the tradition on the spot
regarding the origin of the Schola Anglorum. One of these
frescoes depicts the founding of the Schola by Gregory II
and Ina in the year 725, and another shows Charlenmgne
and King OHa adding to it in 794. Whenever and by whom-
soever the School of the English was founded, it was no
doubt to some extent modelled on the older non-Germanic
sc.hola of the Greeks which was situated in the neighbourhood
of S. l\faria in Cosmedin, and its buildings were certainly
erected in the classical Horti Agrippinæ which were situated
to the south-east of the Circus of Nero below the Vatican
Hill. The whole quarter, once familiar as the palatium of
Nero, henceforth became the" Vicus Saxonulll."
The next of our Kings whose name is connected by our
historians with the Schola Anglorum is, as we have just
seen, OHa II, King of Mercia, whom the same Matthew Paris
calls the" great King who ruled o,.er twenty-three provinces
which the English call shires." 3 He was the founder of the
famous monastery of St. Alban's, and went to Rome (793),
as we learn again from Matthew Paris,4 to get papal privileges
for his new establishment. When he reached his destina-
tion he at once visited (conterit) the longed-for threshold
of the Apostles, and with pious devotion hurried (Percurrit)
to the different shrines of the Saints. Then in gratitude for
obtaining from the Pope all that he required, he gave the
"Schola Anglorum which then flourished in Rome" a
denarius (silver penny) from every family whose arable
land (Pasena) was worth over thirty denarii. "This he gave
for the support of those of his kingdom who went to Rome."
So much, indeed, was done by King OHa for the" English
School" that by some of our historians who lived before
Matthew Paris he is thought to have been the founder of
1 Galletti, InscriPtiones Romanæ, p. xxi., n. 30; Rome, 1760.
Z Cf. infra fOf fuller details about this interesting sacristy.
3 Loc. cit" p. 360.
t Or whoever was the author of the earlier portion of the Chron. Maj.,
quoting from the Life of Offa II, written probably by the author of that
earlier portion, ap. ib., p. 358...:ff.
THE SCHOLA ANGLORU111
II
it.! We may here add that deposits of Anglo-Saxon coins
which ha ve
been found in Rome from tinle to time prove
that money was regularly sent out from England. Accord-
ing to Professor Lanciani three such deposits have been
found in the City. 2 The first was discovered in 1843 walled
up in the old belfry of St. Paul's-outside-the-Walls, the
second at Tre Fontane in 1871, and the third on November 8,
1882, in the House of the Vestals in the Forum. s
To proceed with the history of the Schola. \Vhile a
letter of Pope John VII (705-7) shows us that there were a
considerable nun1ber of English clergy resident in Rome,
the contemporary biographer of Pope Leo III (795- 816 )
makes it plain that in the year 800 the EngHsh residents
formed an organised community (schola) and that their
example had in this respect been followed by other Teutonic
peoples. In that year (800) the mighty King Charlemagne
came to Rome, and, says the biographer in question, was
welconled, among others, (( by all the schools (scole) of the
foreigners, viz., by the Franks, Frisians, Saxons (or Angles)
and Lonl bards. OJ 4
Except for the brief reign of Stephen (IV), Pope Leo III
was succeeded by Paschal I (817-824), and his contemporary
biography gives us, in language not in the least compli-
mentary to our people, the next notice of their colony and
quarter. (( Through the slothfulness of certain people of
the English race," begins the historian, (( the whole of their
quarter (habitatio), which in their language is called Burg
(burgus), was burnt to the ground." Besides nearly all the
portico on the colonnade which led from the bridge of St.
Angelo to the basilica of St. Peter's was similarly destroyed.
\Vhen word of the fire was brought to Paschal in the early
hours of the morning (lloctis cOllticinium), (( through his love
1 William of Malmesbury, Hist., ii. 2. Matthew Paris, Chron. Maj., i.
p. 331, Rolls Series, says that" the avarice of the Romans had already
deprived it of its revenues and ruined it, when OHa restored it." Matthew
Paris is here, no doubt, anticipating certain events that happened later.
Z New Tales oj Old Rome, p. 268 H.
3 This last collection of coins may be seen in the Museo delle Terme.
4 Vit. Leonis ap. Duchesne, Liber Pontificalis. ii. 6, 36. Cf. a mention
of "alie nationes" with the Romans at the funeral of Paul I (767), ap.
ib. i., 465.
12
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
of the Church of Blessed Peter the Apostle, and his distress
for the Inisfortune of those foreigners," says the biographer,
without waiting to dress himself completely, he TI10unted
his horse and hurried to the spot barefoot. Animated no
doubt by his arrival, those who were fighting the flames
succeeded in extinguishing them. The compassionate Pontiff
gave the unfortunate English not only money, food and
raiment, but also wood to enable them to rebuild their
houses. This took place in the year 817.1 Sonle thirty
years later fresh misfortunes fell upon the" Borough" or
"Borgo" of the English. It was no doubt much damaged
in the Saracen raid of 846, and in the next year, "in the
very beginning of the pontificate of Sergius II," as his
biographer tells us, fire again broke out in their quarter.
It proved a very serious affair. It consumed the Lombard
quarter, and sweeping along the portico threatened St.
Peter's itself. Great crowds of people endeavoured in vain
to stem the rush of the flames, which we are assured were
stopped at length by the Pope's making the sign of the
cross over them. For some years the damage done by this
disastrous fire was not made good. But in 854 King Ethel-
wulf canle to Rome with his son, "England's darling,"
Alfred, whom he had sent there in the previous year to be
anointed King. He remained in the City a whole year with
Alfred, and" at great expense," says the historian, repaired
the "Schola Saxonunl" which King Ina had founded. 2
King Alfred was now well known in Rome, and his striking
career was naturally watched with interest. Because, says
one of our quaint chronicles written in old French, he
"accomplished and procured so much by his goodness";
Pope Marinus sent him some of the Cross on which Christ
was slain, and did him so much honour with good gifts,
and such relics " that he would never die by arms." As he
was in such favour with this Pope, Alfred used his influence
in behalf of his countrymen in Rome, and the same historian
tells us that it was this Pope" who first enfranchised the
1 So says the Ang.-Sax. Chron., an. 817. Cf. Lib. Pont., ii. 53 f.
2 Libe de Hyda, p. 25, Rolls Series. Cf. Asser, nn. 8, II, pp. 7, 9, ed.
W. H. Stevenson, Oxford, 1904; and Ep Leo IV, ap. llion. Germ.,
Epp. III. 602.
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THE SCHOLA ANGLORUM
13
English School by the procurement of King Alfred." 1
Another chronicle written more than a century later says
that King Canute obtained fronl Pope John "that the
schools of England should be free from aU manner of obliga-
tions." 2 He no doubt completed in the matter of freedom of
the Schola Anglorum from taxation and obligations of all
kinds the work of King Alfred. At any rate at length,
to use the words of the previously cited chronicle: II It
was free, God be praised."
If, however, the English, as we have seen some reason
to believe, were n10re careless than the Romans of the ninth
century, they would appear to have been braver. In the
raid of 846 just mentioned, the Saracens, who had begun to
be the scourge of the Mediterranean, sailed with a large
armament to the mouth of the Tiber and landed a consider-
able raiding party. At once a body of the foreigners in
Ronle, English, Frisians and Franks, marched to meet them.
But unfortunately, after some slight successes, the foreign
sc/zola were surprised (it is to be hoped not again through
the carelessness of the English) and cut to pieces, and all
their quarters, which were then outside the walls of Rome,
as well as the basilicas of SS. Peter and Paul, were sacked
by the Saracens.
This disastrous raid was felt to be a disgrace and a menace
to Europe, and Pope and Emperor combined to render the
sacking of St. Peter's more difficult for the future. Pope
Leo IV surrounded the Vatican with a wall, and thus made
what from him came to be known as the Leonine City.
This Pope had also the Schola Anglorunl brought strongly
before him. Not only had he, too, in the very beginning
of his pontificate to assist in quenching a fire in the English
quarter (a fire immortalised by Raphael in his" Incendio
1 Listoire des Engles, lines 3323 fl., Rolls Series. This chronicle was
written in the twelfth century not later than 1147. All this rests on the
authority of Alfred's contemporary biographer, Asser, who says: U Qui
(Pope Marinus) Scholam Saxonum in Roma morantium pro amore et
deprecatione Ælfredi Angulsaxonum regis, ab omni tributo et telonio
benigne liberavit. Qui etiam multa dona dedit prædicto regL" Among
these gifts, Asser mentions U a no small portion of the true Cross." N. 71
p. 53, ed. Stevenson.
I "E purchaca . . . ke les escoles de Engletere fussent franches de
tute manere demande:' Le livere de Reis de Engletere, p. 108, Rolls Series.
14
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
del Borgo" in the Vatican), but, from the fact that one of
the three gates of his new City was in their quarter, he
called it from their language the U Postern Gate of the
Saxons," 1 and gave the English and the other foreigners
(diversis nationib'lts) splendid presents when his City was
finished. The same Pope (Leo IV) is also said by his
biographer to have wholly rebuilt the primitive Church of
our Lady of the English quarter. 2 Subsequent repairs and
alterations of the church are by some authors attributed
to Innocent III and Sixtus IV. Paul III with the aid of
Sangallo is said to have rebuilt it, and Mascherino to have
added the existing façade for Sixtus V in the first year of
his glorious reign. That Sixtus caused the façade to be built
seems clear, for it bears, if not his arms, what may perhaps
be styled his crest (gran de stemma), a dove amid rays.
There is just one more item of ninth century history to
which attention may be called. As that century neared
its conclusion the Danes began to make terrible inroads into
our country, and among those who left it in despair was
Burhed, King of Mercia. He retired to Rome, died there,
and, says the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, U his body lies in
St. Mary's Church at the English school" (874).
Contemporary ninth century evidence, then, puts before
us near St. Peter's a regular quarter supplied with a church,
and inhabited by our countrymen in such numbers as to
be able to furnish a quota of militia. It prepares us to
accept the assertions of Matthew Paris, as do also the well
ascertained facts that Peter's Pence was instituted during
this century either by Ethelwulf 3 or by his son Alfred the
Great, 4 and that that national offering was divided between
the Pope and the Schola Anglorum. 5
Just, then, as in England our countrymen built a Peter's
1 Lib. Pont., in vito Leo: .. Posterulam aliam que respicit ad Scolam
Saxonum, que, ex eorum vocabulo, , Saxonum posterula ' appellatur."
2 Lib, Pont., ii. 128: " A fundamentis supra scholam Saxonum noviter
construxit." Above ground the present Church of San Spiro in S. shows
no trace of either Ina's or Leo's building.
a So says William of Malmesbury, De gest. reg., I. ii. 109 (d. 113),
ap. P.L., t. 179.
, Cf. his coins found in Rome.
6 Cf. Ep. of Alexander II. (1061-1073), ap. }affé, 4757 (3524).
THE SCHOLA ANGLORUM
15
town or burg, i. e. Peterborough, so in Rome they built a
Saxon burg, which became known to the Romans as the
Burglts, or as Saxia or Sassia,l and they built it by the river
for the benefit of their countrymen who came by sea. And
nlOreover, as King John speaks of our hospice as near the
street (secus stratam), it would appear that the English.
quarter occupied half the width of that part of the Leonine
city where it was situated, and that it was the largest of the
scholæ of the foreigners.
The example of the English was, as we have said, rapidly
followed, and soon, south of the colonnade which linked the
bridge of St. Angelo with St. Peter's, there were three other
scholæ, viz. those of the Franks,2 Lonlbards and Frisians
traces of some of which exist to this da y. The Schola
Francorum was grouped round the Church of San Salvatore,
called later on San Salvatore in Macello, or de Torrione,
or de Assibus. This church may still be seen among the
buildings of the Holy Office. It was in the cemetery of
the Schola Francorum that all the foreign pilgrims had
to be buried until the English obtained the privilege of
burying their dead in their own quarter. This cemetery
still exists, and is still used as a burying place for strangers.
In the Church of St. Michael in the Borgo, we see the centre
of the Schola Frisonum; 3 but the Church of St. Justin,
which was the place of worship for the Schola of the Lonl-
bards, was unfortunately destroyed in that nlost vandal of
centuries the sixteenth.
Later on, before the Middle Ages had run their course,
the Hungarians, Armenians, Abyssinians and Copts had
also their quarters in the neighbourhood of St. Peter's;
and to this day traces of some of these peoples are still to
be seen near the basilica. 4
1 And so the GraPhia awreæ urbis Romæ speaks of the bridge, .. Nero-
nanius ad Sassiam," ap. Urlichs, Codex Urb. Rom., p. 118. Cf. p. 15 8 .
Cf. infra for the King's letter.
2 Cf. De Waal, La Schola Francorum, p. 6.
3 Cf. .. Le antiche memorie dei Frisoni in Roma," by P. J. Block, ap.
Bollettino d. Commis. archæol. Comunale, vol. xxxiv., 1906, p. 40 fl. The
Church was sometimes called" in Sassia," .. in Palatiolo," .. in Monte,"
and .. ad Porticum."
( De Waal, I luoghi þii sui territ. Vatic., pp. 20-23, Armellini, Le
chiese di Roma, pp. 768, 750-54.
16
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
The pilgrimages of our countrymen to Rome continued
during the tenth century and the first half of the eleventh;
i. e. during Rome's "dark days" when the city was a
battlefield of factions, and when its ancient monuments
were turned into fortresses, whence robber nobles issued
to attack the defenceless, or to which they retired to escape
the hands of justice. Among the curious documents which
have escaped the nloth and the thief for a thousand years
is a brief Itinerary of a journey made in the midst of this
black period by Sigeric, Archbishop of Canterbury (J uly
990). It was first printed by Bishop Stubbs.! Presuming
that the Archbishop went to Rome by the same route by
which he returned from it, his Itinerary enables us to say
that he went from Dover to \Vitsand, 2 and by Guisnes and
T erouanne to Arras and Laon, through Champagne and
Burgundy to Pontarlier, and then by Lausanne to St.
Maurice. As usual, he crossed the Alps by the Great
St. Bernard Pass, beginning his ascent from Martigny on
the Rhone, and ascending the course of the Drance by
Orsières to Bourg St. Pierre. Here the sight of a Roman
milestone would remind him, as it does the traveller of to-
day, that this was the pass by which the Roman traders
and soldiers made their way into Gaul. Here, too, he
would be told of the cruelties which the Saracens of
Fraxineto used to inflict on the pilgrims as they crossed
the pass, for when a few years after this Hugh Bishop of
Geneva (1019-38, or c. 990-c. 1030 Gams) built a church
(since reconstructed) at Bourg St. Pierre, an inscription
was set up recording not merely the original building of the
church, but also the doings of the Saracens. 3
If by the year of Sigeric's journey the Hospice, which
in the ninth century used to be at St. Pierre, had been
removed, he will have found it at the crest of the pass,
1 In his Memorials of St. Dunstan, p. iv., 391, Rolls Series.
II He would take between six or seven weeks over his journey. Guisnes
is in the Pas de Calis. Wissant or Witsand was the Portus Hius (or
Iccius) of the Romans, and lay between Calais and Boulogne. Till the
taking of Calais in 1347, our vessels used to sail to Witsand.
3 It now forms the doorstep of the present church, and is nearly
effaced. J. Ball, The Western Alþs, p. 429. London, 1898.
THE SCHOLA ANGLORUl'vl
17
where now stands the famous Hospice first built by St.
Bernard of Menthon in the eleventh century.
He was certainly cheered and refreshed at the Hospice,
even if he had been a little disappointed at the compara-
tively dull nature of the scenery through which he had
passed whilst making his ascent. Perhaps the sight of the
remains of the temple of Jupiter Penninus 1 may Ílave called
to his mind that the Pass had taken its name from this
temple (Mons Jovis). At any rate, he descended the
mountain by the side of the Buthier,2 and soon reached
the charming town of Aosta. Then he journeyed through
Piedmont by Ivrea, and traversed the Lombard Plain by
Vercelli and Piacenza. Then, crossing the Apennines by
Pontremoli, he struck Spezzia, and keeping comparatively
near the coast, he passed Lucca and San Gimignano, and
turned inland towards Siena. At Acqua-Pendente he
entered the Patrimony of St. Peter, and then skirting the
lake of Bolsena, he touched Viterbo and Sutri. From Sutri
on the Via Cassia he made for Baccano, which is close to the
old station of H Ad Baccanas." From this station (mutatio),
which was reckoned at twenty-one Roman miles from the
Eternal City, he rode on towards the Ponte :Molle (Pons
Milvius), and thus reached his last station. According to
the Itinerary, this last halting place, 3 where we may presume
Sigeric spent the last night of his outward journey, is set
down as H of John IX, Johannis noni (VIllI)," which no
doubt was the H burgus JJ and parish H S. Joannis in Nono,"
that is, the hamlet and parish of St. John at the ninth mile-
stone in the neighbourhood of Veii. 4 When Rome could be
seen the eager pilgrim would behold St. Peter's, not as now
with its dome swelling up above the rolling Campagna like
a graceful hill, but nevertheless a glorious basilica over
3 0 0 feet long and 200 feet broad. Our Archbishop, rising
1 Now the only remains are cuttings for the foundation of the temple
(d. Not. Scavi, Milan, 1894, p. 33). It is interesting to note that in making
the road on the Swiss side some English coins of the eleventh and twelfth
centuries were found. They were no doubt the property of some English-
man who perished there (ibid., p. 35, n. 2).
I A tributary of the Dora Baltea.
3 The Itinerary names eighty stages altogether.
· Cf. Tommasetti, La Campagna Roma
la. iii. 98.
C
18
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROl'vlE
very early on the last morning of his journey, continued to
follow the Via Cassia until it joined the great north road, the
Via Flanlinia, and crossing almost immediately after-
wards the Ponte Molle (Pons Milvius), two miles from Rome,
gazed with historic reverence on It Father Tiber."
But Sigeric was no antiquarian, and the walls of Rome,
and the great Porta Flaminia by which he entered it, had
no attractions for him, except in so far as they enclosed so
many of the shrines of the Saints. No sooner had he entered
the city than he hurried to St. Peter's (Primitus ad limitem
b. Petri Ap.). Then he visited the Church of St. Mary of
the English (deirzde ad S. IJilariam seolam Arzglorum), and
no doubt there announced his coming and his intention
to pass some tinle with his countrymen in Rome. Next,
recrossing the river, he looked in at the Church of St.
La"Tence in Lucina, or in Craticula as the Itinerary calls
it, and again passing through the Porta Flaminia, returned
almost as far as the Ponte Molle to see the Church of
St. Valentine, one of the halting places of the procession of
the It great litany" on St. Mark's Day (April 23).
It would be wearisome to tell of the other churches the
indefatigable prelate visited on this day. He made the
entire circuit of the city walls, seeing the great basilicas
outside the walls. Re-entering the city by the Porta
Capena (di S. Paolo), he examined sonle of the churches on
the Aventine and in the Trastevere. Then, concludes the
clerk, It we returned home" to the Schola Anglorum. On
the second day the worthy prelate did not visit so many
churches. His clerk furnishes us with the reason. " We
dined with the lord Pope John" (XV) at the Lateran, and
no doubt made arrangements with him to receive the pall;
for it was to get the pall or pallium that Sigeric had under-
taken the journey to Rome.!
It would take too long to put on record the other famous
people from this isle who reached Rome in the early Middle
Ages, and found rest and refreshment at the Schola Anglorum.
But it is interesting to know that King Macbeth was one
of them (r050).
The interest of the Popes in the English colony showed
1 Ang.-Sax. Chron. , an. 990.
THE SCHOLA ANGLORUM
19
itself in various ways. Though, for instance, they allowed
others to choose the subordinate officials of the Schola
Anglorum, they reserved to thenlselves the choice of its
supreme director, the archpriest. 1 The It others" referred
to were the canons of St. Peter's, upon whom our Schola
after the decrees of Leo IV, depended, and to whom twice
a year it had to pay a sum of money (pensiones), at least
till the days when it was freed from the obligation of paying
any kind of tax. 2
The Popes also allowed those of the English nation who
might die in their quarter (in Schola Saxiæ) to be buried
in their own schola, whereas those of other nationalities who
died in Rome were, for the most part, required to be buried
in the Schola Francorum. 3
The Schola and its inhabitants also shared in the bounties
which the mediæval Popes were wont to grant on exceptional
occasions 4 or at regular intervals. 5 Our countrymen could
also count on the personal services of the Pope, and
we read that on February 23, 1123, Pope Calixtus II
consecrated an altar in honour of our Lady in her church
in Saxia. 6 ·
Unfortunately as time rolled on, evil days began to fall on
Rome, and on the Schola Anglorum in particular. During
the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the Emperors in their
quarrels with the Popes often not merely set up antipopes,
but supported them, and strove to further their own views
by force of arms. In the struggles of these great rivals,
the City of Rome was several times the scene of fierce fights.
1 Ep. 79 (an. 1053) of St. Leo IX confirming and quoting a bull of
Leo IV. ap. P.L.. t. 143. p. 704 fl. "In hac tamen ecclesia (S. Dei geni-
tricis V. Mariæ quæ vocatur Schola Saxonum) ordinatio archipresbyteri
consilio nostro fiat:'
lIb. Cf. Kehr. Italia Pontific.. i. p. 145.
a lb. Leo IX speaks of the inhabitants of a schola as scholentes or
scholenses.
( Cf. of the bounties given by Leo IV when he finished the Leonine
City (In vito n. 73: "Magnam sive Romanis sive diversis nationibus . . .
rogam distribuens:')
6 .. S. Marie Saxie 12 den. pro thuribulis." Lib. Cens. ed. Fabre. i. 301.
Given at Easter. Ib. p. 309 for donation on the day of the Greater
Litanies (St. Mark).
II Kehr, Italia Ponti/., i. p. 15 1 .
20
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
The Leonine City with the English Hospice in its midst was
seriously damaged by Henry IV in 1084, by Henry V in
1119, and by Frederick I in 1167.
Matters went from bad to worse as far, at least, as the
material prosperity of the city and its institutions was con-
cerned, when, in the middle of the twelfth century, the
Romans, following the example of most of the great cities
in the north of Italy, wished to establish a republic, and in
their endeavours to carry out their wishes sometimes com-
mitted regrettable excesses. These led to the Popes leaving
Rome. They even caused our countryman, Hadrian IV
(1154-9), to lay Rome under an interdict, and one of his
immediate successors, Lucius III, to forbid pilgrims to go
to Rome. Rome under an interdict, or Ronle without the
Pope, had no attraction for Englishmen.
Besides, there had taken place nleanwhile a change of
conditions in England. After the Norman conquest, the
English were ruled by men who wished to control their
souls as well as their bodies. The Norman Kings wished
to be the lords of the Church and of the State. They
would not allow their subjects to leave the realm with-
out their permission, and strove to hinder communication
with Rome. Consequently the visits of the English to
Rome began to decrease seriously, and their Schola to
decay.
In connection with this falling off of English pilgrimages
and visits to Rome, one or two very interesting documents
have come down to us. In 1162-3, Peter, Cardinal Deacon
of St. Eustachius, wrote to St. Thomas Becket to say that
the Church of our Lady, " quae Sassonorum dicitur," and
which had been provided by the Popes for the reception
of the English who came to visit the tonlbs of the Apostles,
in order that after their long journey they might find con-
solation and charity as in their own homes, was now stricken
with poverty.
It is so poor, continued the Cardinal, that it barely
supports a few clerics and a layman or two for the service
of the church itself, and for the consolation of the pilgrinls.
Hence the Pope, pitying the condition of the fabric, has sent
letters to the English Church urging it to help the Schola,
THE SCHOLA ANGLORUNI
21
and the Cardinal begs St. Thomas to add his letters to those
of the Pope.!
What was the precise effect of this appeal I cannot say,
but no doubt the struggle between King Henry and the
Archbishop prevented the latter from doing very much to
help anybody or anything. Indeed, before he died, he found
it necessary to assure Pope Alexander III (1170) that it
was not his fault if the English ceased to visit Rome as
they had been accustomed to do. 2 Besides, if full credence
can be given to Gilbert Foliot, the English bishops had no
money to spare at this time. For, writing to this same Pope
in 1165, he assured him that there was no money which could
be lent to him II because the lawsuits and exactions of the
King's men have swept away all our ready money."
The Schola Anglorum was doomed. In the last quarter
of the twelfth century its buildings, with the exception of
its church, went to ruin. But that same point of time saw
mount the throne of the Fisherman, the great Innocent III
(1198- 1216), a man who had eyes not only for what was
greatest, but even for what was least, all over the world.
Among other details, the decay of the English quarter
arrested his attention. As we learn, both from himself and
from his biographer,3 he reconstructed the buildings of the
old Schola and turned them into a hospital for the poor
and sick. This hospital of " S. Maria in Saxia" he placed
under the management of a confraternity which had been
founded by Guy of Montpellier for the care of the sick, some
twenty years before his accession. 4 As this confraternity
was known as that" of the Holy Ghost" (fratres S. Spiritus),
the old name of S. Maria in Saxia, after a brief struggle,
went almost completely out of use not very long after the
1 Ep. ap. :Materials for the Hist. oj Archbishoþ T. Becket, v. 64. ed.
Rolls Series.
2 Ep. ap. ib.. p. 241.
3 Ep. vii. 95, June 18, 1204; Cesta. Inn., n. 144. Cf. Annals 0
Waverley. ad. an. 1213, which also tell how Innocent founded the hospital
"in loco ubi quondam peregrinantibus de Anglia domicilium erat edifi-
catum, et Anglorum schola dicitur. eamque ditavit . . . terris. etc."
Rolls Series, ap. Annal. Monast., ii. p. 280.
, Hurter, Tableau des Institutions de l'église au Moyen Al:e, ii. p.
495 fl.
22
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
brothers took possession of the new hospital, and the church
and quarter which had for some 400 years been known under
the title of S. Maria, have ever since about the close of the
first quarter of the thirteenth century, been generally known
under the designation of S. Spiritus. By the year I450
the tradition of the connection of the hospital with the
Schola Anglorum would appear to have been lost, for we
find that John Capgrave (Ye Solace of Pilgrimes, p. r7,
cf. p. 6r) simply speaks of H the hospitall of the Holy Ghost"
without note or comment.
Not content 'with sinlply building a new hospital on the
site of the old Schola Anglorunl, Innocent was anxious to
endow it. For this purpose he supplied some funds himself 1
and appealed to others to help him. Among those to whom
he thus turned was our own King John, and a charter of
the English Sovereign, 'which has been preserved, shows
that the Pope did not appeal to him in vain. It ran:
,< John, by the Grace of God, King of England, Lord
(dominus) of Ireland, Duke of Normandy and Aquitaine,
and Count of Anjou, . . . moved by divine love, for the
good of his own soul, and for the souls of his ancestors and
heirs, and on account of respect for the Lord Pope Innocent,
who has appealed to hinl on this matter, grants roo marks
yearly to the hospital which the said Pope has built by the
Church of S. Malia in Saxia, which is called of the English,
and where used to be a house of entertainment for them "
( r20 4).2
There is nluch which is very interesting that might be
told about the famous Hospital of the Holy Ghost; 3 but
though, as we have seen, it was partly endowed by England;
though the brothers of the hospital were authorised by
Innocent 111, 4 by King John 5 and by the Archbishop of
1 Ep. x. 179.
2 This charter of King John was inserted by Honorius III in a bull
which he addressed to the brothers of the Hospital of S. Maria in Saxia.
Jan. 3, 1218. Ep. ii. 98. Cf. a similar grant of the Bishop of Chartres
in 1202. Cf. Ep. Inn. III, x. 223.
II On this eldest hospital in the world see Lallemand, Rist. de La charité
à Rome, p. 227 fl. Paris. 18 7 8 .
& Ep,. vii. 95.
Ii Ep. ap. Rymer's Fædet'a. i. 117.
THE SCHOLA ANGLORUM
23
Canterbury to collect money for it in England, l and though
it was visited by our countryn1en on account of the real
or supposed indulgences to be gained there,2 still the hospital
was not exclusively supported by them, and it was not
the counterpart of the It Schola Anglorum." It was not
an English centre. However, as part of its endowment
came from England and it still occupies the site of our first
national establishn1ent in Ronle, we may be permitted to
add a few more items of information regarding it which show
its subsequent connection with our country. A kind of
honorary confraternity which Eugenius IV described as It of
great authority and composed of devout persons of both
sexes, was established by Innocent III in connection with
his hospital. Its first known menlber from the British Isles
appears to have been that interesting ecclesiastic Giraldus
Cambrensis. He tells us himself of the hospital which
Innocent had founded in a locality wont to be called It the
Anglican School" (schola Anglicana), and gained thereby
various indulgences.
Fron1 the bull of Eugenius IV (
Iarch 25, I446), from
which we have just quoted, and which reconstituted the
hospital, it appears that the confraternity of Innocent III
1 Cf. the Register of W. Giffard, Archbishop of York, for a letter of
Boniface, Archbishop of Canterbury (1266), on this subject, p. 152, ed.
Surtees Soc., 1904. The Cardinal Legate, Ottoboni, II requires" the
Prelates of England to receive kindly the brothers of the Hospital of the
Holy Spirit, on account of the good work they are doing, to permit them
to collect alms and to help their work by granting them suitable com-
mendatory letters, in accordance with the form sent by the Pope (April 9,
1266, p. 151). Consequently the Archbishop of Canterbury orders the
priests of his province to explain to the people on three successive Sundays
the object of the collection, and to collect the alms themselves (Sept. 19,
1266), p. 15 2 .
Z The Vernon MS. (c. 1370) of the old English Stacions of Rome has
(p. 22, ed. Furnivall, London, 1867) the following quaint lines-
II At the chirche of seynt spirit,
In the weie to trismere (Trastevere) ful riht,
Vche (each) dai there is eight hundred year to pardoun
And thridde part of thi synnes remissioun."
In connection with this it may be noted that Nicholas IV in 129 1
granted on a few fixed days a II relaxation of one year and forty days of
enjoined penance to penitents who visit the church of \Vrittle (Essex,
diocese of London, given by King John) belonging to the hospital of the
Holy Ghost in Saxia." Cf. Calendar of Papal Letters, i. 537.
24
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
had been one of its best mainstays. This " certain old
books" had made clear to the Pope, whose interesting bull
may be read in the Libcr Fraternitatis S. SPiritus et S. }"iarie
in Saxia de U rbe. This interesting volume is to be found
in the library (Biblioteca Lancisiana) attached to the
hospital.!
Besides bulls of Eugenius IV and Sixtus IV (March 21,
1478) reconstituting the hospital and confirming its privi-
leges, the Liber contains the nan1es of the members of the
confraternity of the hospital fron1 the year 1446, and the
sums they subscribed to the institution. The names have
been in nearly every case entered by the nlembers them-
selves and were mostly inscribed in the jubilee year of 1500.
Occasionally nan1es were entered by properly constituted
proctors. Thus, among the English men1bers of the con-
fraternity, I< the most serene lord Henry (VII), King of
England and France and Lord of Ireland," was duly in-
scribed as a melnber I< of this holy confraternity" by this
proctor of his Majesty in November 1494. 2
The only other English member of this confraternity
which we shall mention here is that of the famous scholar
John Colet. His entry is as follows: I< I John Colet inscribed
as members of this holy confraternity Henry Co let, Knight,
John and Richard their children (March 13, 1493) with the
aim and object of their gaining all the indulgences and
privileges granted to this confraternity." 3 As the history
of the Hospital of the Holy Spirit is not our concern, we
must refer the reader who n1ay wish to know more of it to
the interesting old work of Fr. Pierre Saulnier. 4
Before bringing this chapter to a conclusion, however,
it will not be out of place to add a few more words about
the Sacristy of the Church of S. Spirito which adjoins the
hospital. s The reader n1ay remember that this church
stands on the site of that of St. Mary which belonged to
1 Cod. Lancis, n. 328. For the history of this codex of 486, pages of
parchment, see P. Egidi in the Bollettino dell' Instituto Storieo Italiano,
n. 34. p. 257 fl. Rome, 1914. Egidi in the same year and place also printed
the MS. in his Necrologi della Provincia Romana, vol. ii. p. 107 fl., with
plates.
2 P. 73v. of the modern pagination of the MS.
· De caPite S. Ordinis S. Spiritus, Lyons, 1649.
8 Ib., p. 234.
Ii Cf. supra.
THE SCHOLA ANGLORUM
25
the Schola Anglorum. Although the sacristy has not, as
far as is known, any such connection with the sacristy
which must have been attached to the old Church of the
English, it is interesting not merely as a work of art, but
because the subjects of the frescoes which adorn it chiefly
relate to the old Schola Anglorum and to the hospital which
was its heir.
It was the work of the Tuscan Stephen Vai, one of the
n10st distinguished heads of the hospital, who was ruling
it when Saulnier wrote the book which we have just cited.
Stephen had a most distinguished career both before and
after he joined the brothers of the Holy Ghost in I632,
and according to Saulnier was too modest to allow him to
narrate his great deeds at length. However, says the
biographer, dumb things speak for him. Among these he
names the sacristy built and furnished by him in the n10st
exquisite style, and adorned with frescoes. Of these paint-
ings mention has already been m.ade, and the subjects of
two of then1 enumerated. Of the others one shows Pope
Paschal I stopping the flames which were devouring the
:English quarter by exposing to them a picture of our Lady,
and another of Leo I V and Ethelwulf restoring the Burg
after it had been devastated by a third fire. There are also
depicted in this relnarkable building the funeral of Burhed,
and the punishment of the perjury of King Elfred (9 2 4).
Two frescoes are devoted to Innocent III. In the first he
is seen confirming the rule and Order of the Holy Spirit
(1197), and in the second giving over the house of our Lady
to Guido, the founder of the Order of the Holy Spirit, and
to his conlpanions (1204). Next are seen Eugenius IV
renewing the work of his predecessors and Sixtus IV play-
ing the part of another founder. Finally, we n1ay observe
Charles VIII, King of France, and Charlotte, Queen of
Cyprus, being enrolled as members of the confraternity.
Thus much about the first Hospice of the English in
Rome. The subsequent chapters will trace the history of
its successors to our own times.
CHAPTER II
THE ENGLISH HOSPICE
AFTER the loss of the Holy I...and, the sanctuaries of Rome
attracted more and n10re the devotion of Catholic pilgrin1s.
In the year 1300 Pope Boniface VIII instituted, or more
probably revived, the practice of celebrating every hundred
years the year of Jubilee. Fifty years later Pope Clement VI
was persuaded to reduce the period of this visit to the tOlllbs
of the Apostles to half-a-century, on the plea that a great
nurnber of Catholics could not expect to take part in a cele-
bration which canle only every hundred years. Though the
Pope was then at Avignon with his court, he issued his bull
proclaiming the Jubilee of 1350 and bestowing the customary
indulgences upon those who visited the holy places in the
Eternal City. This brought an immense concourse of people
from every Christian nation to Rome. Some reputable
authorities have stated that the pilgrims in this year num-
bered at least a million and the city was crowded to excess.
A new street, still retaining its name Via dei Pellegrini, which
led directly to the Bridge of Sant' Angelo, was made for the
convenience of the strangers; and in the immediate vicinity
of this Ie pilgrims' way" there were erected at this tÏ1ne
several national hospices for the reception and entertain-
ment of the various peoples of Europe. The hospices of
Aragon, of Leon, Flanders, Sweden, Germany, France,
etc., still exist.
The English pilgrims, who formed part of the great
concourse of peoples at the Jubilee of 1350, had no national
hospice in existence, and found very indifferent accommoda-
tion. This fact and their national pride and piety led to the
foundation of the English Hospital, or Hospice of the 1.fost
IIoly Trinity and St. Thomas of Canterbury, on the spot
where now stands the venerable English College.
26
THE ENGLISH HOSPICE
27
Another reason which in1pelled the English to found a
hospice of their own was probably to protect their fellow-
countryn1en from the imposition and even violence of the
Roman lodging-house keepers. There was a real and
recognised reason for this protection. A decree of the
Senator Angelo Malabranca (Septen1ber IS, 1235), after
setting forth that it is the duty of the Senator to keep
order in the city, and to see that pilgrinls who come to the
threshold of the Apostles are not scandalised, states that
it has been discovered that Ie many of those who dwell in
the neighbourhood of the basilica of St. Peter force pilgrims
and visitors to Rome to take lodgings in their houses.
Moreover, what is worse, if the pilgrims and visitors have
taken up their abode elsewhere, these people drag them forth,
and against their will compel them to lodge in their houses.
\Vhen they are called to account for such conduct they
allcdge certain evil customs."
The Senator regarding all this as an offence not only
against "the Prince of the Apostles to whose shrine the
faithful flock from every part of the world," but against
God Himself, decrees that, all things to the contrary not-
withstanding, these evil practices must cease, and empowers
the Canons of St. Peter's to see to it that they do cease." 1
From the ml1niments in the College archives it would
appear that son1e years before 1360 a guild of laymen of
English nationality had acquired certain property in the
Via Monserrato with the object of establishing there a
hospice for English pilgrims and travellers coming to Rome.
This has been shown quite clearly in a paper communicated
to the International Historical Congress held in Rome in
1905.2 The chief document, which goes to prove this, is
dated January 27, 1362, and as it is really the foundation
charter of the English Hospital, it may be quoted here :-
Ie In the name of the Lord. Amen. In the year of the
Nativity of the same 1362, under the pontificate of the
1 See the decree in the Chartulary of St. Peter's. It is cited at length
by F. A. Vitale, Storia deþlomatica de' Senatori di Roma, i. p. 98. Rome,
I 79 I.
2 "The National English Institutions in Rome," by Dr. W. Croke. Atti
iii. pp. 555 se. 99.
28
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
Lord Pope Innocent VI, etc., John the son of Peter the
Englishman, otherwise called John Shepherd (Pecorarius),
rosary seller of the Rione Arenula, of his own good will
sold and, under the title of sale, etc., made over to \\Tilliam
Chandeler of York, England, who received it in his own
nalne, and on the part of and in the name of the comlnunity
and society of the English of the city, and of the poor sick,
needy and distressed people coming from England to the
city, and for the convenience and use of the same, etc.,
a certain one-storeyed house with a garden behind it, ",-ith
the income of the same from the ground to the top." 1
Forty golden florins was the price paid by the Societas
or Confraternity of the English for this property, and it
is described as standing opposite the Church of St. Mary
and St. Catherine, now known as Santa Caterina della
Ruota, facing the present English College. I t is worth
noting in regard to this purchase that the witnesses of the
original deed, like John Shepherd the vendor, were evidently
men in the lower ranks of life. One was a servant and
another a Paternostrarius, or rosary seller, like Shepherd
himself.
On the 4th of February of the same year, 1362, John
Shepherd's wife, Alice, made a formal renunciation of any
claim she might have upon the house sold by her husband.
This deed was made in favour of Robert de Pinea, Syndic,
and of John the Goldsmith, chamberlain or camerari'lts of
the Society and Community of English, and it was signed
in the presence of William Chandeler and a notary. 2 In
regard to this property it is not uninteresting to notice that
by a previous deed, dated September 24, I361, John Shepherd
is described as the purchaser and is spoken of as a .. dealer
of rosaries, formerly of England," and again that among
the witnesses to this transaction are two other dealers
in rosaries, Simon the son of J ohn Barber, and \tVilliam
Ricciardi or Richards.
1 English College Archives. Memb., Jan. 27, 1362. Lanciani, New
Tales of Old Rome, p. 270, says, .. The hospice occupied part of the site
of the Stabula Factionis Venetæ, the barracks and stables of the squadron
of the charioteers of the circus, who wore blue colours."
II Memb., Feb. 4, 1362.
THE ENGLISH HOSPICE
29
After the sale of their house and garden to the Society,
Shepherd and his wife offered themselves to William
Chandeler, the Warden, Robert-at-Pyne (de Pinea) and John
the son of William the Goldsmith, the camerarii or adminis-
trators of the Society, to serve the poor and strangers, who
n1ight be received in the Hospice. They promised to leave
all the property they possessed at their death to the Society,
II as a help and for the assistance of the sick and poor
cOIning in numbers to the aforesaid house." 1
The above is the account of the foundation of the IIospice
for English pilgrims, according to the original documents
still to be found in the Archives of the English College.
There is, however, another story of the origin of the Institu-
tion given by the historian Stowe, which, though clearly
wrong in some particulars, may very well be correct in regard
to the names of those who are represented as the founders
or helpers of the original Society, or Fraternity of the
English living in Rome.
Stowe writes: "The founders of this IIospital were Sir
Robert Braybroke, Bishop of London (?), Thomas Brampton,
Bishop of Rochester,2 Sir Hugh Calveley, Sir John Hawk-
wood, Sir John Thornham, Knights; John Twiford, John
Shepherd and Alice his wife, Robert Christal and Agnes his
wife, Robert Windleront, Walter Whithers, Robert-at-Pyne,
Adam Staple, Henry Line, draper, and other citizens of
London A.D. 1380, in the reign of Richard II."
It is at least curious to note that Stowe here names at
least three of those who appear in the earliest deeds in con-
nection with the English Hospice, nalnely: John Shepherd,
Alice his wife, and Robert-at- Pyne. And although he is
wrong as to the date he gives for the foundation, namely
1380 in place of 1362, it would seem ahnost certain that he
Inust have had some doculnentary evidence for the con-
nection of the others whom he names with the original
foundation. Very possibly all these may have been in
some measure helpers of the Hospital for the reception of
EngJish strangers and pilgrims, rich and poor alike, who
found their way to the Eternal City.
1 lb.. Memb.. April 14. 13 62 .
I The name of this Prelate was Brunton.
3 0
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
It would then appear on the whole probable that a
society or fraternity of the English living in Rome was in
existence before 1362, on which date John Shepherd agreed
to sell his house and garden to Willian1 Chandler and others,
as representing that Society. An entry in one of the volumes
in the English College archives states that this Society or
Fraternity began in 1358, when it was placed under the
protection of the 1\10st Holy Trinity. It lliay safely be
conjectured, therefore, that the knowledge of the incon-
veniences and difficulties, suffered by English pilgrims
attending the Jubilee of 1350, led the English residents of
Rome to combine and to found a Guild, or quasi-religious
Society, for the purpose of providing a Hospice for their
fellow-countrYnlen, such as other Christian nations possessed.
According to an entry in the Register of Bishop Grandison
of Exeter 1 this Society was subsequently encouraged and
approved by Pope Gregory XI, who bestowed indulgences
upon its members. The approval of this Pontiff was
probably due to the influence of Dom Thomas Brunton,
called by Stowe Brampton, and nanled by him as one of
the founders of the I-lospice. At the beginning of the
Pontificate of Pope Gregory XI, Brunton was living in
Rome and was made penitentiary of the Holy See, till his
appointn1ent to the see of Rochester in 1372.
The IIospital for English pilgrims, thus begun in the
n1Ìddle of the fourteenth century, continued to prosper.
In 1364 there is recorded the purchase by the Universitas
or Societas pauperum A nglorum of a house and garden
adjoining the premises bought from John Shepherd two years
previously,2 and in which he and his wife had been installed
as guardians or managers by the ruler of the fraternity.
As time went on other houses and lands were given or pur-
chased to add to the property. Thus to take a couple
of examples: in 1371 two Englishmen, named in the deed
Ro bert and Richard, gave over two houses and three pieces
of land)n the" regione Parionis," 3 and John Palmer, " the
Englishman," gave another house near the hospita1. 4 This
1 Register I, fl. 20, quoted by Dr. Oliver, Monast. EXOll.
Z Memb., Oct. 22, 1364. :I J.lIemb., May 25, 1371.
t 1I1emb., May 29. 1383.
THE ENGLISH HOSPICE
3 1
John Palnler had been Guardian of the Institution, holding
that office in 1374 and 1375. 1
Sometime about 1390, anlOngst the brethren of the
Society there was a certain John White, who is described
as a citizen of London, merchant. 2 lie subsequently, in
1405, becan1e Guardian of the English Hospital; but before
this tin1e, nanlely in 1396, he conceived the project of
establishing a second hospice for English pilgrims on the
other side of the Tiber. With this project in view, \Vhite
purchased a house and garden frmll the Canons of the
Church of St. Chrysogono, which, as the deed of purchase
sets out, he intended to devote to the service of the poor
and strangers under the patronage of St. Chrysogono. 3
Incidentally it is mentioned that a similar house for the
English had already been in existence on the other side of
the Tiber, for the past forty years. This gives the date of
the foundation of the Hospital of the Holy Trinity, or as
it was subsequently called, the Hospital of St. Thomas,
about the year 1350.
A few months later-to be exact, April zz, 1397-this same
John vV'hite " of England, but now dwelling in the city of
Rome, JI executed a deed dealing with the purchases he had
n1ade. lIe ,vas then intending, as it would seem, to return
for a time to England, and " on account of the long distance
and the perils of the journey," he prudently wished to secure
the property for the purpose for which he had purchased it,
nan1ely for the poor in this Hospice in Trastevere. In
view of the possibility of his not returning to Ron1e, and
no doubt feeling the precarious condition of his new founda-
tion, he directs that in that event, and in case that the
IIospice did not succeed in its purpose, the property was
to pass to the Hospital of St. Thomas over the river. In
particular he names also a house that belonged to him in the
regiolle A renula, near the English Hospital. 4 A house
which, it may be noted, was long held by the Hospital and
which was in the end exchanged ",ith Cardinal Farnese for
another property, as it was near the site upon which he was
then engaged in erecting his Palace.
1 lìIemb,. Oct. 26. 1374. Memb.. Sept. 9. 1375.
z Lib. 27 2 , f. 8. a Memb., Oct. 23, 1396. << 1rlemb., April 22, 1397.
32
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
Ultimately John \Vhite, to secure his foundation in the
Trastevere, established a religious fraternity and associated
with himself some others, whom he desired to be regarded
as co-founders of the Hospice. The earliest Register of the
Trastevere Hospice is prefaced by the following note:
" Pray ye for the souls of the founders, brethren and bene-
factors set here below and for all the faithful departed, as
well as for the good estate of those in this list, who are still
alive. r, 1
As this Trastevere English Hospice was from the first
closely connected with that of St. Thomas over the Tiber,
and as it was subsequently amalgamated with it, it nlay
be convenient to trace its history before taking up again
the story of the more ancient establishlnent in the Via
Monserrato.
The original founders of the Trastevere institution are
stated to have been: U John \Vhyte (or \Vight), citizen of
London and merchant, an Englishnlan"; "Peter Paul
Baker, now a Ronlan citizen, Gallic'Us, with :Magdalen :Maria
his wife a Ronlan "; "John Ely a serjeant at arms to the
Pope"; "Dns. Roger Knight (Knecht?) cappelanus, an
Englishman;" and an English merchant, named John
Gaylot. These founders of the Hospital are also named in
the list of members of the Fraternity of the IIospice, which
is fairly complete to the year 1466. There was a yearly
election of nlembers and amongst the brethren are to be
found all sorts and conditions of people, fronl a Bishop to a
tailor. Thus, in the lists we have the names of Bishop
Thomas Polton of Chichester, and Adam :Moleyns or
:Molyneux also of Chichester; IIenry Harborough, Canon
of Salisbury (1394), and John Urry, Prebendary of Lincoln
(1431); John \Velles, Abbot of the Premonstratensian house
of Eggleston (1411); Walter Grey, protonotary Apostolic,
Archdeacon of Northampton, and proctor of the King of
England in Rome, etc., etc.
H is interesting to note that many of the brethren of
the Hospice in the Trastevere were also associates of the
earlier f01mdation in the Via :Monserrato. Some, indeed,
becanle officials of the latter. John White himself, for
1 Archives, lib. 272, f. I.
THE ENGLISH HOSPICE
33
example, was the Guardian of St. Thonlas, apparently in
the year of his death, 1405. Other brethren of the Trastevere
Institution who becan1e Guardians of St. Thomas's were
Richard Thwaytes, Armiger in r446, and John Lacy, Arn1iger
in 1447. In this latter year another brother of the Trastevere
IIospice, Dom Hugh Foster, described as a monk of Glaston-
bury, was one of the camerarii or councillors of St. Thomas's.
John White gradually added to his first purchase of a
house and garden opposite the Church of St. Chrysogono.
In January, 1404, he secured the house and land adjoining
for the purpose of building a chapel to serve the hospice. 1
This work he took in hand immediately, but did not live
to finish, for in his last will dated October 23, 1404, he
directs that the small house next to his hospital, which he
had begun to prepare for a chapel, in which Mass might be
celebrated. should be cOlllpleted by his executors. Accord-
ing to his wish John White was buried in the Church of
St. Chrysogono. 2
After the death of the original founder, the Hospital
in the Trastevere continued to grow. In 1406 three houses
near to the Hospital of St. ThOlnas on the other side of
the river, together with a vineyard, outside the Porta Por-
tuense, were given to the Trastevere Hospice,3 and the
officials the same year purchased three more houses in the
Trastevere for roo florins. 4 Two years later again, in
1408, the officials of the Fraternity secured another house
and garden adjoining the original purchase, and this
acquisition made them the possessors of the block of land
which lies between the Via Monte de' Fiori and the Via dei
Genovesi. The Trastevere IIospice was apparently well
endowed and supported and, at least on two occasions,
came to the assistance of the sister establishment of St.
Thomas by a loan of roo ducats. 5
All trace of the chapel has now disappeared. It stood
at the corner of the Via dci Genovesi. and was dedicated
1 Memb., Jan, I, 140.1. :2 Memb., Oct. 23, 1404.
:I Memb., Jan. 13, 1406. I l'vlemb., Sept. 29, 1406.
5 Capgrave, an Austin Friar in 1450, tells of " this transtibre," which
hath" a hospital of Seint Edmund the Kyng" (Ye Solace of Pilgrimes,
Oxford, 1911, ed. C. A. Mella, p. 109).
D
34
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
to the Holy Trinity and St. Edmund, King and Martyr.
It existed and remained in use till 1664, for on May 29 of
that year the then Rector of the English College petitioned
the Ecclesiastical authorities of Rome to be allowed to close
it, as it was no longer needed. lIe states in his petition,
first, that by the Bull of Foundation of the College, this
institution was bound to support and assist pilgrims to the
Eternal City and that this duty had always been faithfully
carried out: secondly, that as part of the property belonging
to the College there was a small chapel dedicated to St.
Edmund, which had served the pilgrim house in the Tra-
stevere, when that had been a separate entity. It was
situated U in loco Montefiore," between the Church of St.
Chrysogonus and that of S. Giovanni Genuensis: thirdly,
that hitherto one of the priests from the College had always
gone to say Mass in the chapel every Friday, Sunday and
Feastday, and that there had been a
Iissa Cantata sung
there on the feast of St. Edmund, for the founder and bene-
factors of the Trastevere Hospice. As the need for con-
tinuing these services no longer existed, the Rector begs
that the obligation of the nlasses, etc., nlay be transferred
to the high altar of the church of the English College over
which there was a picture of the patron St. Edlllund. The
petition was granted and the execution of the decree com-
mitted to the Cardinal Vicar of Rome. 1 The same year
on July 12, 1664, the Vicegerent, Mgr. Caraffa, came to the
chapel and with the usual formalities closed it for divine
service. 2
The actual position of the Chapel of St. Edmund is known
through a note written by Dr. Gradwell in 1818. He states
that at that time No. 22 Via dei Genovesi was a house made
out of the old chapel, and that not only was the then existing
building the chapel transforn1ed into an ordinary business
place, but that over the door there was still to be seen the
arms of St. Edmund King and MartYr, and that, inside the
1 Lib. Instr" xL, May 29, 1664.
lIb" vol. xi., July 12, 1664. The decree of the Congregation was
recorded on a tablet set up in the old church and now reproduced in the
Sacristy of the College. It is reproduced in I scrizioni delle Chiese di
Roma, Forcella 2, vii. p. 182, no. 378.
THE ENGLISH HOSPICE
35
house, the place where the altar had stood was plainly
visible with an almost obliterated fresco of the Martyrdom
of the Saint over it. An old nmp of the College property
made in 1613 shows the position of the chapel at the corner
of the Via dei Genovesi. The building, however, which in
1818 was No. zz of this street, has now been pulled down,
but it undoubtedly stood at the left-hand corner of the Via
dei Genovesi, where it joins the modem Viale del Re. In
fact a small tablet is still to be seen on the broken wall
of the old premises recording u Domus sub directo dominio
Collegii Anglorum Urbis et perpetua locatione Archicon-
fraternitatis Charitatis Urbis. Anno MDCII. Diae XV
Octobris. "
Fronl an old account book in the Archives of the English
College some idea n1a y be gathered of the property and
management of the Hospice for the English in the Trastevere,
which was dedicated first to St. Chrysogonus and then
jointly to hin1 and St. Edmund, when the chapel was
finished. Thus in 1449 the Fraternity possessed eight
houses in the Trastevere and one near the Church of Sta.
Cecilia, as well as vineyards and gardens. It also enjoyed
the rent of a house and garden situated near the English
Hospital of St. Thomas, probably on a portion of the site
upon which now stands the Farnese Palace. At this time
the house was occupied by Dr. \Villiam Gray, Protonotary
Apostolic and proctor of the English King at the Roman
Curia for which he paid sixty ducats a year. 1 Previously
these pren1Ìses had been in the occupation of the Archbishop
of Benevento for nine months, but thc Hospital accounts
reveal the fact that he had never paid his rent. 2 From one
of its vineyards, outside the Porta di San Pancrazio, the
Hospice of St. Edmund had five tabelatos of good pure
n1ust at the vintage of 1449, and sold eighteen barrels of
wine to the sister establishnlent of St. Thomas. In fact,
this latter was a constant customer for the produce of the
vineyards belonging to St. Edmund's.
The management of the Hospice was in the hands of
elected o:fti.cials. At a general meeting of the brethren of
the Confraternity held annually there wcre chosen two
1 Lib. 272, f. 8. 2 Lib. 272, f. 7.
36
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
auditors of accounts, a Guardian and two councillors.
Sometimes also a chaplain was appointed at the general
meeting, at which also applicants for membership of the
Confraternity were considered and admitted. This forn} of
government lasted from the foundation by John \rhite in
1396 until 1464. From the first there had been a close
connection between the two English Hospitals, and, as their
object was practically identical, many members were
associates of both Institutions. The bond gradually grew
closer, till in 1464 an actual union of the two existing
establishments was effected. On
Iarch 12 in that year,
at a plenary meeting of the brethren of St. Edmunds, it
was agreed that the Guardian and Councillors of the two
hospitals should be the same. Thus after these officials
had been elected at St. Thomas's, the same were to be pro-
posed and elected to the same offices at St. Edmund's.
Each corporation continued to elect its own associates, and
the administration of the property of each was kept separate,
with separate accounts; but the general management of
the two establishments was in the same hands. Gradually
the interests of the old Institution of St. Thomas naturally
came to predominate, and, at the same meeting at which
the partial union was effected, it was resolved to appoint
caretakers at St. Edmund's, as the officials, being more
occupied with the affairs of St. Thomas, would naturally
reside there. I t was thus arranged that a man and his
wife should be found, to take charge of the buildings in the
Trastevere and to see to the proper reception of poor English
pilgrims and others. It is specially ordered, however, in
regard to the choice of the first caretakers that they U were
not to be Scotch, or to belong to any other people, at
war with the English King or the English nation." 1
The system arranged for the management of the Hospice
of St. Edmund, inaugurated in 1464, was continued at any
rate till the close of the sixteenth century. For example,
one John Borowbridge was appointed custos or guardian
of the hospice in 1525: 2 he continued to hold office till
1528, when an examination of the accounts seemed to show
that he had got into considerable debts and he was removed
1 Memb., 1580. I }I,lemb., May 3, 1525.
THE ENGLISH HOSPICE
37
fronl his office, his name being erased from the list of
members of the Fraternity.l Borowbridge was succeeded
by an Englishnlan nanled Tracy, who was named perpetual
guardian,2 and, shortly afterwards, a woman was appointed
to see to the pilgrims' rooms and take care of the chapel.
She was given a small house and garden, and was instructed
to reccive all English travellers who sought hospitality for
three nights. 3
THE HOSPICE OF THE HOLY TRINITY, ST. THOMAS AND
ST. EDMUND
From the time of the union of the two English Hospitals
in Rome-that in the Trastevere and that in the Via Mon-
serrato-all interest in the establishments is transferred
to the older and the better known Hospice of St. Thomas,
now the venerable English College. 4 Some interesting
particulars regarding its early history nla y be gathered from
an examination of an old account book still preserved in
the College archives. s The register itself was cOlnmenced
in 1523, when John Clerk, Bishop of Bath and \Vells, became
Guardian or Custos of the Fraternity in that year. The
front page of the volume is illuminated, having a figure of
the Holy Trinity, supported on either side by the two patrons
of the united hospitals St. Thomas and St. Ednlund, King
and 1lfartyr.
The inventories entered in the book are of considerable
archæological interest and are set forth carefully year
after year when the accounts were audited. A sentence of
1 Memb., Oct. 25, 1528. 2 Memb., Jan. 28, 1529.
3 Memb., April 24, 1530.
t An old inscription, formerly over the door of the Old College, shows
the connection of the establishment with the English King. It shows tho
arms of England and France, and below, the following :-
HÆc CONJUNCTA DUO SUCCESSUS DEBITA LEGI
ANGLIA DANT REGI FRANCIA SIGNA SUO
M.CCCCXII
LAURENTIUS CHANCE ME FECIT
Thus it would seem that the inscription was made shortly before the death
of Henry IV. In the year 1337 King Edward III had united the two
arms of England and France in one.
li Lib. 33.
3 8
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
Holy Scripture, set down as a motto at the beginning of
another volume of accounts, 1 gives the principle upon which
those who kept then1 appear to have acted throughout.
It is the following :-
H Ubi manus multæ sunt, claude. Et quodcumque trades
numera et appende. Datum vero, et acceptum omne
describe" (Eccl. xlii. 7).
Some interesting items as to people and things connected
with the old IIospice may be gleaned from a yolume, which
might otherwise be passed over as likely to contain nothing
but H dry-as-dust" material. For example: in the In-
ventories of the Hospice the names of the donors of pieces
of plate, vestments, etc., are sometimes given. Thus in
14 2 9, in the list of church things in the Sacristy, are to be
found presents made to the Chapel of the English by the
Prior of Canterbury; Robert Fitzhugh, Bishop of London;
and Robert Bottle, Prior of the Hospital of St. John, London.
Bishop Fitzhugh was an important personage. Having
been Chancellor of Cambridge University, he was sent as
Ambassador of the English King, to Rome in the year 1429--
the year he n1ade his present to the English Hospice. He was
made Bishop of London in 1431, having been consecrated
in Italy at Foligno. He was one of the English Bishops
who attended the Council of Basle, and he died on his way
back to England. His is an honoured nanle to connect
with the English Hospice in Rome. It was about this time,
namely in 1445, that Pope Eugenius IV issued his Bull for
the Consecration of the Church and Cemetery of the Hospice.
In the year 1491 we find a very celebrated man as one
of the three officials of St. Thomas's. This is Dr. Thomas
Linacre, 2 the classical scholar and one who is regarded as
the first founder of the College of Physicians of England.
This distinguished man was educated first at the claustral
school at Canterbury under Prior Sellyng, the pioneer of
Greek studies and the new learning in England. Sellyng
took Linacre with hirn to Italy and left him to study at the
then celebrated University of Padua. There he took his
degree in medicine in 1486, and returned to England in 149 2 .
Every scrap of information about Linacre is of interest to
1 Lib. 23. f. I. :I Lib. 23. f. 5.
THE ENGLISH HOSPICE
39
English scholars, and it is consequently important to find,
fronl this old account book in the English College, that he
was in Rome in 1491, and that he must have been so well
known to the members of the Fraternity of the English
Hospice that he was elected one of the two Councillors of
the Institution in that year. At any rate, it is an honour
to the English College to be able to associate the name of
so distinguished a scholar with the nlany illustrious names
to be found on the roll of this venerable Institution.
In 149 6 , among the names of the offlcials of the English
Hospice appears that of John Giglis. 1 lIe had been in
England, as Collector of Papal dues for Pope Sixtus IV, and
returned to Rome as the agent or proctor in Curia for
King Henry VII. For his services he was rewarded by being
nominated by the Crown to the See of Worcester; but he
died in Rome the following year, 1498. He probably lived
at the Hospital; but at any rate he was an official of the
establishment.
In the same year, another future Bishop was one of the
two Councillors of the Hospice. This was Hugh Inge, or
Ynge, who having been a scholar of Winchester in 14 80
and Fellow of New College, Oxford, apparently settled in
Rome in 1496. Dr. Inge acted as agent to Cardinal \Volsey,
and no doubt through his influence, was nominated to the
diocese of Meath in 1512. He subsequently became Arch-
bishop of Dublin in 1521. At this period a certain Fran-
ciscan Friar, John Francis, was acting chaplain of the
Hospice, and a note to an Inventory of a later date states
that, on his death in 1498, " he left the Hospice twenty-three
volumes nearly all relating to Theology."
The Inventory of 1496 reveals the fact that the establish-
ment possessed a considerable amount of plate, both for
the Church and the Refectory. Some of the silver vessels
are described as having been presented by the Duchess of
York, the mother of King Edward IV. Amongst other
donors, there is recorded the name of the Abbot of Abingdoll,
who was the Ambassador of the English King to the Pope,
and who was thus brought into close relation with the
English Hospice, which had become the recognised centre
1 Lib. 33. p. 6.
4 0
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
of English interests in the Eternal City. Another benefactor,
noted in 1496, was Dr. Robert Sherborne, who became
Bishop of Chichester in 1508 and who was Envoy of the
English King in 1496 and again from 1502 to 1504.
Apparently the Library of the IIospital at the end of
the fifteenth century was poorly furnished, and, whilst the
theological books left to it by the Franciscan chaplain are
mentioned in 1496, there is a note to the effect that, (I partly
by time and want of care, partly perhaps by having been
stolen," the number of volumes in the common library had
greatly diminished. In the list of kitchen utensils at this
time there is an entry of (I 70 pewter platters purchased in
England, and recently brought over in a royal ship." 1
The support of the Hospice at this period depended
mainly on the rents of the various properties it had acquired
in Rome and its neighbourhood, either by purchase or
through the generosity of benefactors. Besides this, sub-
sidies were collected throughout England for a work of
recognised national importance. The idea of John White,
the founder of the Trastevere English Hospice of St. Edmund,
to form a quasi-religious fraternity to assist poor pilgrims,
was adopted after his death by the united hospitals. Collec-
tions were made from the English dwelling in the city and
from the rich pilgrims, who came, often in considerable
numbers, to visit the tombs of the Apostles and the shrines
of the early martyrs of the- Christian Church. For the
purpose of gathering these aln1s there was an official collector
in Rome itself to receive both them and also the collections
n1ade in England. As an instance of this, in 1491 the nanle
of a certain :Matthew de Laures appears as the official
collector,2 and in 1522 one Thomas Clerk, an Englishman,
was appointed to receive the alms collected in England,
and to lodge the sum with a London bank for transmission
to Rome. 3
Among the volumes in the Archives of the English College,
there is one dealing with the collections made in England. 4
The book was prepared in 1446, and was drawn up in
divisions according to the English dioceses; but com-
1 Lib. f. lO.
a Memb., July 10, 1,522.
2 Memb., April 14, 1491.
t Lib. I
.
THE ENGLISH HOSPICE
4 1
paratively few of its pages have, however, been filled up.
It is really a receipt book, and the title given to it leaves
little doubt that the names entered are those of contributors
to the support of the English Hospice, and those who were
enrolled men1bers in the Fraternity of St. Thon1as and St.
Edn1und. It has, indeed, been said that the entries are
those of actual pilgrÜns to Rome, and the lists have been
printed on this supposition,! but this is certainly not the
case. The inhabitants of entire parishes are enrolled
together; as, for example, the parish of Sutton Valence
in Kent. Here D. Laurence Golding, evidently the priest
of the village, heads a list of some forty or fifty men and
women. It is clearly, to say the least, most unlikely that
what must have been practically the whole of a village
would with their priest have been in Ron1e at the san1e
time. So, in the Norwich diocese, amongst others, we find
that the Prioress of Campsey and eight of her nuns were
enrolled on March 16, 1492. They would hardly have
been all pilgrims in Rome on that date.
In the diocese of \Vorcester, again, over 600 nan1es are
recorded in this Register; and in some cases there is a note
of the amount of aln1s bestowed. For example, in the
parish of St. Swithun, London, there was a London nlerchant
named Robert Fetwell, who had left the Roman Hospice
six ducats, and on July I, 1450, the widow paid this sum
to the collector. So, in another parish, Thomas Scott, an
alderman of the city, and his wife Edith promised to pay a
yearly sun1; but a note is added to this entry stating that
in 1450 they had so far paid nothing.
From two or three notes at the end of this book of
receipts, it may be conjectured that the Hospice received
some 200 golden ducats a year: at least in 1447, Dr. Hugh
Forster, Penitentiary of the Pope and in that year Custos
of the Roman Institution, and the two call1erarii, or coun-
cillors, accounted for the receipt of that sunl. The year
1 Foley Records, etc., prints the list of names from that published by
John Bowyer Nichols in 1834, in Collectanea TopograPhica. In this print
the first set of names is prefaced by the words Nomina receptorum in Roma
de Dioc. Cantuarien. This would lead the reader to suppose that the
names were those of actual pilgrims to Rome. This title, however, does
not exist in the MS.
4 2
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN RO
"IE
following, 1447, the same sum is acknowledged as having
been received by John Lacy, the Custos of the Hospice,
and his councillors. The name of the collector in those two
years was one Matthew Crompe, and he forwarded the sum
from England to the Roman officials. Before the list of the
fraternity of the Roman Hospice in Yorkshire, there is a
note from which it appears that a certain John Losthouse,
II a citizen of York and a brother of the Hospital of St.
Thomas the MartyT in the city of Ronle," had sent a certain
number of golden ducats to the Custos in part payment of
forty English soldi sterling, which he had prOInised. The
money had been dispatched to Ronle by the hands of three
Yorkshire priests, who were travelling thither; but, on
arriving in the Eternal City, on account of the exchange
allowed at the banks of London and Bologna, it was found
that the actual sum received was short of that promised
by six nobles.
From the books in existence, it would appear that there
were various grades among the English associates of the
Roman Hospice. It is not quite clear what they were, or
upon what the distinction was based; but probably it
depended on the amount given. Some of the associates
were merely members of the Confraternity, which existed
for the support of the Hospice, and only partook in the
Indulgences and spiritual favours given to those assisting
this national charity. Others were admitted to C< concilla
et sufjragia" -that is, apparently they were members
having the right to take part in the management of the
Hospital, and to give their vote at the yearly election of
the officials. Amongst the associates in Rome, one or
two well-known names nlay be noted as being also menlbers
of the Hospice. For instance, we find that George Lilly
was an associate in Ronle, and Dr. Richard Pede, a doctor
of Canon Law and Dean of Hereford. In the diocese of
Chichester the first of the Confratres to register his name
was Adanl :Moleyns or
Molyneux, Bishop of the same see.
Whilst he was in Rome, he was councillor and auditor of
the Hospice, and, as a notice of him says: "he has always
been a protector and supporter of this Hospital."
In 1491 a Roman ecclesiastic and a former chanlberlain
THE ENGLISH HOSPICE
43
of the Pope-one John de Garona-Ieft all his chapel
furniture to the Church of St. Thon1as's Hospital, and
twenty ducats towards the building. He also bequeathed
his house to the officials of the Hospice, but with the proviso
that the rent should go each year towards the building of
S. Laurenzo in Damaso as long as it was needed. 1
It may be convenient here to speak of the provisions
made for the pilgrims who visited Rome. By the estab-
lished rule every gentleman or well-to-do person, if he
desired, was to be given U bread, wine and ware" for three
days free of charge, and every commoner had to be received
at the Hospice "for eight days and nights, with meat,
drink and lodging." Stowe in his Annales also says that
" if any woman happens to be near the time of her deliver-
ance, so that she dare not take her journey, she is to be
honestly kept till she be purified, and then, if she were able,
to go away with her child; if not, she was to be kept till
it was seven years old." Dr. Oliver 2 writes: "The best
description I have seen of it (the Hospice) is in the Roma
Sancta by that prodigy of learning and piety, Dr. Gregory
Martin, the original folio MS. of which is at Ugbrook, con-
taining about 368 pages, and was finished April 9, 1581."
He dates the foundation from 1361 in the Popedon1 of
Innocent VI. "The church is very con1modious, with six
altars; chaplains and brethren \,ithin the house to say
Mass and other service, eight with their Custos or Principal.
Here are received all Englishn1en without exception (especi-
ally pilgrims and the poorer sort) for eight days; and, upon
consideration for the parties' necessity, for double and triple
and longer, with meat, drink and lodging, very competent
and honest; and money also according to the parties'
necessities. Here are received the sick of our nation if
there be some. The revenues are by the year about 1495
crowns, arising of houses especially. The Government
pertaineth (in 1581) to the Cardinal Protector of Our nation
and to the chaplains and brethren within the house, which
have their Custos, and to them of our nation abroad in the
city of the better sort, which by order or statute are made
1 'Vill, dated July 24, 1491, in Lib, Instr" i. f. I.
I Quoted by Br. Foley, LJiary and Pilf:rim Book, Introd. xxvii.
44
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
brethren. All which made a solemn Brotherhood and
Congregation and meet together diverse times about matters
of the Hospital."
Br. Foley, in his volume of the Jesuit Records regarding
the Diary and Pilgrim Book of the English Hospice, has
printed from Nichols's Collectanca some early lists of pilgrims
who were received in the Roman house. They are for the
years 1504 to 1507, but on a conlparison of the print with the
original MS., 1 the names of persons and places in the former
are found to be quite unreliable. The numbers of English
conling to the Eternal City in the early years of the sixteenth
century are quite remarkable. In 1504-5, for exanlple,
the total was 82, of whom 48 were of the poorer sort; in
15 0 5-6 there are noted 212, of whom 157 were poor pilgrims;
in 1506-7 sonle 207 were received at the Hospice. These
are mere stray records, for the actual Pilgrim Book does
not begin till 1580. Although in the margins of Cardinal
Pole's account book there are notes of the reception of
certain guests between the years 1548 and 1559, these are
made by the accountant rather with the object of explaining
additional expenses than for the purpose of registering the
names of the guests or pilgrin1s.
From the date of the P1lgrim Book-IS80 to the year
16s6-the entries of the nanles are continuous, and the
volunle is a revelation of the numbers of Catholics who in
the dark days of religious persecution found their way
from England to the Eternal City. \Vhen dealing with
this period of the History of the English College, it will be
necessary to speak of these lists at greater length, and to
call attention to sonle of the better known nanles of English
visitors entered in the pages of this interesting volume. For
the moment we may confine our attention to the earlier
lists.
Ahnost the first nanle on the roll of pilgrims in 1504 is
a Mr. Thonlas Halsey, a student at Bologna. 2 He was not
the only Englishman of that University who came on a
visit to Rome; and perhaps the most interesting amongst
these was Dr. Nicholas Harpesfield, who was received at the
1 Lib. Imtr., i. f. 2, fl. 19, 21; ft. 29, 32.
2 Not Bonn as Br. Foley always prints this word.
THE ENGLISH HOSPICE
45
Hospice on October 17, 1505. This is the historian after-
wards exiled for his faith in the reign of Elizabeth, of whom
more will have to be said when he took refuge in the College
in the latter part of the century.
Among the visitors from England there are a goodly
number of clerics styled U students" or U scholars."
Probably these were clerks in Holy Orders, who at that tinle
were the holders of benefices with a licence to go abroad
to study. We find in the lists, for instance, John Dawson,
described as a scholar of Lancaster; John Lon1bard as a
scholar of Lincoln, and others. There are some rather
curious entries. For example: in January 1505 there
canle to the Hospice a child of twelve years who, as the
record has it, It because he arrived nearly half dead remained
until the middle of May." In :March of the same year,
one John Rawlin, an English sailor, asked for help and
shelter. He had been seriously wounded by robbers and
was U half dead." He remained for thirty-six da ys U to
the great burden of the HospitaL" There were in this
period a great many priests, visitors from the English
dioceses, and monks and friars of all colours found their
way to Rome in the early years of the sixteenth century.
In :March 1505, for instance, no fewer than twelve priests
of the diocese of NOr\vich arrived in a body. In May of
the same year, the names of the Captain and ten sailors
from the vessel A nne Clark are entered in the record as
having been entertained at the Hospice. Again in October,
five sailors of the Royal Navy and, in December, three of
the ship Thomas of London were guests of the Fraternity
of St. Thomas the Martyr.
To take one or two other instances of interesting items
from these records: in 1506 a Welshman arrived at the
Hospice and claimed help. He was very unwell, and
remained so for sixteen days, and, says the record, U being
unable to speak any other language but Welsh, the Hospice
was burdened with a \Velsh interpreter to wait upon him."
On May 14, 1506, there arrived in Rome Dr. Henry Standish,
Provincial of the Minorites of England, accompanied by
Dr. Thomas Draper and Dr. John \Varner, Prior of the
Bedford house of the Order. Dr. Standish was later utilised
4 6
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
by Henry VIII in the suppression of the monasteries,
and subsequently becan1e Bishop of St. Asaph and the
Consecrator of Archbishop Crannler.
To sum up the history of the English Hospital during
this period, it may be sufficient to say, that until the defec-
tion of Henry VIII from the Church, the Institution grew
steadily in wealth and national importance. The officials
during the fifteenth century were men of n1erit and distinc-
tion, and the Hospice was frequently, if not generally, the
residence of the English Ambassador to the Pope. The
administration appears to have been wise; and a vigilant
care was exercised in watching over the trust reposed in
the officials. At the same time it is evident that those in
charge extended the charity of the establishment with a
generous and impartial hand to the pilgrims and the sick
of the English nation.
In 1412 the Hospital was rebuilt, and in 1445 the new
Church of the Blessed Trinity and St. Thomas was conse-
crated, and received many privileges from Pope Eugenius IV.
Amongst others it was granted the extra-parochial rights
of a cen1etery for the English as were given to the old
Schola A nglorum. Donations from many people of distinc-
tion continued to be recorded. The Duchess of York, for
instance, presented a superb chalice, candelabra and salvers
of silver weighing 176 ounces. Among the officials, besides
those already named, are to be found Adam Apollyns,
afterwards Bishop of Chichester; Christopher Urswick,
afterwards Ambassador to France, Dean of Windsor,
Recorder of London, etc.; Dr. Walter Grey and Dr. Hannibal.
THE HOSPICE UNDER CHANGED CONDITIONS
From the date of its foundation, about the middle of the
fourteenth century, till towards the close of the fifteenth,
the Hospital was governed by a Custos and two Councillors
elected annually at a meeting of the Fraternity. It had
gradually assumed a position of national importance. For
its support it depended not only on its revenues from
Ron1an properties-lands and houses-but on money
which was freely subscribed for the purpose in England;
THE ENGLISH HOSPICE
47
and it became the recognised centre of English influence
in the Eternal City. The Royal Envoys and the Proctors
of the English Kings in Ron1e were in close connection
with the Institution, often as distinguished members of the
Fraternity, son1etin1es as occupying one or other of the
houses which belonged to It in the immediate neighbourhood
of the Hospice, and in some instances even holding the
position of officials governing it.
Towards the close of the fifteenth century, the English
King intervened personally in the affairs of the establish-
ment. In 1486 and again in 1498, Henry VII addressed
letters to the officials ruling it at the time, by the hands of
his Ambassador, Dr Robert Sherborne, then Dean of St.
Paul's, London, asking for information as to the manage-
ment and general status of the English Hospital, etc.
The first of these was dated from Westminster, on
January 29, 1486, and was to the following effect :-
II Henry by the Grace of God, King of England and France
and Lord of Ireland to the honourable guardians of the
property of our Hospital of St. Thomas the Martyr in the
City of Rome, and to the brethren of the said place, Salutation.
II By the letters of the Right Revd Lord [Cardinal
Archbishop] of Siena,l the Protector of our Kingdom, and
of our Lord John de Giglis, our Ambassador, we have
understood that the English Hospice in the City of Rome
is so very honourably endowed that, besides the usual
officials, who devoting themselves to divine and literary
studies now govern it to the glory of God and to our honour
and that of our Kingdom, its revenues can fully maintain
it in as fitting a manner as the Hospices of other nations
established in Rome.
II \Ve, therefore, desiring to increase and assist the
work for God from Whom all good things come, everywhere
but in a particular manner in this beloved city, order and
exhort all and each of you severally that, for the happy
preservation of this state, you strictly observe and cause to
be observed by others, the Statutes drawn up after the
1 This was Francis Tedeschini Piccolornini, afterwards Pope Pius III,
who was created Cardinal by bis uncle Æneas Silvius Piccolomini, then
Pope Pius II.
4 8
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN RO
ME
mature deliberation of the brethren, by Robert Sherborn,
our Orator. These Statutes are made for the HospIce, by
our Ambassador and are intended for all time. And lest
our con1n1ands, which we are unwilling to think possible, be
set at nought, We order this present letter to be inscribed in
the Official Book of the Hospice, that in the future no one
may be able to plead ignorance of these our commands.
Should you become acquainted with anyone who disregards
this injunction, we desire that you n1ake known his nan1e
to Us and thus give satisfaction to God and to Us.
" Fron1 our Palace by Westminster, 29 January, 1486."
This letter is attested by the signatures of Jo. de Giglis,
Regis Orator; Edwardus Scott predicte Hospitalis
Camerarius, manu propria; Frater Franciscus ejusden1 Hosp.
Cappellanus, n1anu propria: Thomas Lasenby, Confrater
Hospit. supradicte, manu propria.
The Popes did not cease to manifest their interest in
the Hospice of the English, and in 1497 Alexander VI
issued a bull in confirmation of all the privileges previously
granted by his predecessors and taking the Institution
under his special protection. 1
To a second letter the officers replied on the 20th of
January, 1499, to the royal request. They fully acknow-
ledged that the Institution was not a private charity, but
a national establishment. They claimed that the property
and funds received for its support were adn1inistered with
every care as the King's royal Hospice. They informed him
that the accounts were well and carefully kept, and pre-
served in the archives of the Institution, and they express
their satisfaction at receiving his demand for inforn1ation,
as an evidence of his interest and care for" Your Hospital."
They conclude by expressing the hope that " Your Hospice,
most Illustrious Prince, may ever be a safe refuge and sure
help to all Your English subjects," and they earnestly
commend it to his royal care. 2
A few years later-in 1s04-the same Ambassador,
Dr. Robert Sherborne, came again to Rome to offer the
obedience of the English King to Pope Julius lIon his
1 1I-femb.. Dec. 7. 1493 (original bull).
I Lib. 17. f. 90.
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THE ENGLISH HOSPICE
49
accession to the Pontifical throne. At this vis] t most of
the business of the legation was thrown upon the officials
of the English Hospital, with the result that their time
being so fully occupied the accounts of the Institution
were thrown into arrear, and the elections of officials could
not be held until after the departure of the English Ambas-
sadors. Immediately after this, moreover, the existing
Custos of the Hospital was taken ill and died on the 25th
of J illy; the place remaining without a governor till
November and being temporarily administered by the then
chaplain, Dr. John Allen.
This irregular state of affairs was brought to the imme-
diate notice of the King. He, seeing, as he says, what
difficulties and misfortunes might arise from similar circum-
stances, and indeed from any election made merely by the
English present in Rome, who often at this time were only
few in number, called together some of the chief members
of the Fraternity in England to have their advice as to what
was best to be done for the greater good of the place. As
a reslùt, he determined that thenceforth the Governor or
Custos of the English Hospital in Rome should be appointed
by the Crown. To carry this decision into effect royal
letters were dispatched to Dr. Sherborne, the Ambassador,
appointing him to the office. In his turn Dr. Sherborne
nominated Dr. Inge, whose name has already been noted,
and who was then English Penitentiary of the Pope in Rome,
to be Vice-Guardian. This appointment, on the advice of
the brethren of St. Thomas's Hospital resident in England,
was subsequently confirmed by the King. l It would appear
that about this time, or a little later, it was ordained that
the books and accounts of the Hospice should be regularly
sent to England for the King's inspection and approva1.
Dr. Hugh Inge held the office to whIch he had been
nominated for four or five years, and subsequently became
Archbishop of Dublin and Chancellor of Ireland. In 1509
Christopher Bainbridge, Archbishop of York, came to Rome,
as the representative of King Henry VIII, and in the
following year was made Custos of the English Hospice,
naming a commissary to take the active superintendence
1 Lib. Instr., i. f. 12.
E
50
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN RO}l1E
of the Institution in his place. In 1511 Bainbridge was
created Cardinal, but in 1514 he died, being poisoned by
an Italian steward. He was buried in the Church of the
Hospice and his monumental effigy is still preserved in the
English College.
On Cardinal Bainbridge's elevation to the sacred purple,
Dr. Richard Pace was appointed Guardian in 1512. He
was one of the most illustrious diplomatists of his day, and
his dispatches from 1514 to 1524 form no inconsiderable
a portion of the English political correspondence of the
period. vVhilst in Rome he was actively engaged in pro-
moting the election of his master, King Henry VIII, to the
Empire, and of Cardinal Wolsey to the Papacy. Pace
was succeeded as Custos in 1513 by Dr. Thomas Halsey,l
who was subsequently promoted to the see of Leighlin in
Ireland. In 1514 a Dr. John Bell held the office. He had
been a scholar of Balliol College, Oxford, and he was sent
out to Rome by the KIng of England to explain the royal
point of view in regard to the Divorce question. After
holding various English preferments he was rewarded for
his efforts in Rome with the see of Worcester. He is said
to have been a very learned scholar, but not very loyal
to Catholic principles. Again, in 1519, the office of Governor
or Custos of the Hospice was given to Dr. Silvester Giglis,
Bishop of Worcester and then Ambassador of the English
King in Rome. An interesting old tombstone, still existing,
records the fact that Bishop Giglis, when Ambassador of
England and Custos of the Hospice, erected it to the memory
of Dom John vVeddisbury, O.S.B., Prior of Worcester,
who died August 23, 1518, when on a pilgrimage to the
shrines of the Apostles. From 1522 to 1524 another royal
Ambassador to the Holy See held the office. This was Dr.
Thomas Hannibal, who had taken his degree in Laws at
both Universities of Oxford and Cambridge and had been
created Master of the Rolls.
These instances will be sufficient to show that the
English King at this period freely exercised the right he
had assumed of appointing the head of the English Hospice
1 Probably the same who came as a student from Bologna in 1504,
and whose name stands first on the roll of Pilgrims in that year.
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[To face p. 51.
THE ENGLISH HOSPICE
51
in Rome. Frequently the appointments were made evi-
dently in reward for services rendered to the Crown, and
several of the Ambassadors to the Pope are amongst those
who, at least nominally, presided over the fortunes of the
Institution. Of these one interesting personality is John
Clerk, Bishop of Bath and \Vells, who took over the office
of Guardian in 1523. In the year 1521 he was sent to Rome
by King Henry VIII and Cardinal Wolsey, in order to
present to Pope Leo X Henry's work on the Seven
Sacraments against Luther, written for him as is commonly
believed by Bishop John Fisher, the Martyr. The Envoy
was received by the Pope in full Consistory on \Vednesday,
October 2, and spoke his oration in the presence of His
Holiness, the Cardinals and all the Ambassadors of Europe.
The theme of Bishop Clerk's speech was a declaration
of the historic loyalty of England to the Roman Church.
In the course of it he said: U Of other nationalities let
others speak; but assuredly my Britain-my England, as
in later times she has been called, has never yielded to any
nearer nation; no, not even to Rome itself, in the service
of God, in the Christian faith and in the obcdience due to
the Most Holy Roman Church; even as there is no nation,
which more opposes, more condemns, more loathes this
monster (i. e. Lutheranism) and the heresies which spring
from it:'
Bishop Clerk held the office of Custos or Governor of the
EngJish Hospice for two years. He came again to Rome
in 1527, when Dr. Richard Shirley governed the Institution
as his commissary, and he was taken ill at Dunkirk in 1540
on returning from an Embassy to Germany. He, however,
reached England, and dying in London, was buried in St.
Botolph's, Aldgate. A stone was erected to his memory by
the Societas Anglica in Rome, in the church of the Hospice,
and it is still preserved among the relics, saved from the
ruins of the ancient buildings. By his will Bishop Clerl{
left to the Hospice a mitre adorned with precious stones,
said to have been worth fifty guineas.
The year 1527 was a time of dire disaster in Rome during
which the English Hospital suffered greatly. On May 5
the Imperial army, undcr the Constable Bourbon, reached
52
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
the walls of the city with the avowed intention of sacking
it. It seems to be probable that the Landsknechte, a very
large proportion of whom were Lutherans, had got com-
pletely out of hand, and that practically they forced their
commander to lead them against the city of the Popes.
Clement VII was unprepared for this sudden attack, and
confiding in the truce he had just concluded with the
Imperial commissioners, had left the defences of Rome almost
unprotected. The attack came without warning, and the
Pope had only time to seek refuge in the Castle of Sant'
Angelo, when the enemy entered the city. For eight days,
the It Sack of Rome" continued unchecked, and horrors
almost without parallel in history were witnessed in its
streets. An impartial authority has thus described this
terrible disaster: II The Lutherans rejoiced to burn and to
defile what all the world adored. Churches were desecrated,
women, even the religious, were violated, Ambassadors
pillaged, Cardinals put to ransom, ecclesiastical dignitaries
and ceremonies made a mockery, and the soldiers fought
amongst themselves for the spoil." 1 For more than seven
months Pope Clement VII remained virtually a prisoner
in the Castle of Sant' Angelo.
A recent writer, Mr. J. W. Gerard, formerly American
Ambassador in Berlin until America broke off relations
with Germany, writes of this sack of Rome: II There is
no more horrible event in all history than that of the sack
of Rome by the German mercenaries in the year 1527.
II The most awful outrages were perpetrated. Prelates
were tortured after bei ng paraded through the streets of
the Eternal City, dressed in their sacred pontificals and
mounted on donkeys. Altars were defiled, sacred images
broken, vestments and services and works of art taken from
the plundered churches and sacred relics insulted, broken
and scattered. For nine months the orgy continued, the
inhabitants being tortured by these German soldiers in
their effort to find hidden treasure. In fact conditions in
Belgium to-day had their counterpart centuries ago in the
treatment of Roman Catholic priests and the people of
Rome. .,
1 Cambridge Modern History. ii. 55.
THE ENGLISH HOSPICE
53
During these terrible excesses, as may readily be sup-
posed, the English foundation of St. Thomas and St. Edmund
suffered in common with the other sanctuaries and buildings
in the Eternal City. One record in the Archives of the
English College proves that the damage to the Institution
was considerable, and the catastrophe is also marked by
the entire absence of accounts and inventories for the years
1527 to 1538. Apparently also, no election of officials
was held in the fatal year 1527, and from the following year
till 1537, for purposes no doubt of reconstruction, the
Hospice remained under the care of the same official, one
John Borowbridge. As already noted, this Guardian
was accused of allowing the Hospice to get into debt in
1528; but, as he remained in office during these critical
years till 1537, apparently he must have been able to
defend himself; and it is easy to understand how the
accounts may have been in disorder for some time after
the sack of the city and the destruction wrought in the
Hospice. In 1530 Pope Clement VII issued a bull in favour
of the Institution granting special Indulgences to all who
would help in restoring the church, which, "in the sack of
the city by the Bourbon had lost all its altar plate, together
with other property and papers." 1
The defection of the English King from the Church,
naturally changed the status of the English Hospice in
Rome. One large source of revenue-the contributions
collected in England for its support-were immediately cut
off, and the constant flow of pilgrims came to an end at
least for a time. From the date of the breach with the
Holy See, the Hospice in Rome became for many years
rather a refuge for exiles for the Faith than a hospital for
the poor, the sick and travellers. The appointment of the
Guardian of the Institution, no longer exercised by the
King of England, passed to the Holy See. In 1538 it was
represented to Pope Paul III that, as most of the members
of the Fraternity were either dead or had disappeared,
there was a real danger of the Institution becoming a
sinecure benefice and of thus being lost to the English nation.
He recognised this, and to prevent it, on March 8, 1538,
1 l,femb., May 3. 1530.
54
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROllJE
issued a bull confinning the election of certain Englishmen
in Rome as brethren of the Hospice, and appointing Cardinal
Pole as the Custos or Guardian. 1
The Cardinal governed the Institute by a Commissary,
and in 1540 his secretary, Michael Throckmorton, held this
office and was succeeded the following year by Dr. Thomas
GoidweIl,2 who was at that time (1541) living in Rome
with Cardinal Pole, having followed his master when he
escaped out of England and having been attainted with
him in 1539. Goldwell was afterwards made Bishop of
St. Asaph in 1555, at the nomination of Queen Mary.
Subsequently he attended Cardinal Pole 011 his deathbed,
anrl escaped to the Continent, when the religious changes
under Queen Elizabeth made it obvious that he must
choose between the acceptance of the principles of the
Reformation, or exile for conscience' sake. Goldwell was
the only English Bishop who was present at the Council
of Trent in 1562, in which year he was attainted for the
second time by the English Parliament. He became for
a time Vicar-General to St. Charles Borromeo, and in 1574
was named Vicegerent of Rome.
In 1544, the office of Custos was given to one, who is
described as \Villiam, Bishop of Salisbury. This was the
famous Franciscan Friar, \Villiam Peto, who was Provincial
of the Observant Friars in England at the time when the
thorny question of Henry's Divorce became acute. He
was exiled, or more probably escaped abroad after his well-
known sermon preached in Henry's presence at Greenwich
He found his way to Rome and was there welcomed by
Cardinal Pole to the Hospice. In 1543, Peto was created
by the Pope, in a Consistory of :March 30, Bishop of Salis-
bury.3 In March 1544, on his appointment by the Pope
as Custos of the Enghsh Hospice, he is described as U bishop
elect of Salisbury," 4 and he was probably consecrated
between that date and September 1545, when he is styled
" Bishop of Salisbury." 5
Bishop Peto continued in the office of Custos till 1553,
1 Lib. Illstr" iv. p. 370, 2 11J enzb., March 15, 1541.
:I See Maztere Brady, EPiscopal Succession, ii. p. 2<)0.
t llIemb., March 28, 1544. :; l\1emb., Sept. II, 1545.
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[To face p. 54-
THE ENGLISH HOSPICE
55
but his creation as Bishop of Salisbury was, of course, not
recognised by H
nry VIII, nor apparently, as it would
seem, by Queen M:uy. In 1557 he was created Cardinal
priest by Pope Paul IV and was nominated Legate to
England in succession to Cardinal Pole. He was, however,
stopped at Calais on his way and prohibited from entering
England by Queen :Mary. When at last, as the result of
negotiations, he was allowed to enter the country, he was
taken seriously in at Canterbury and died immediately.
In 1544 Bishop Peto, on his nomination as Custos of the
Hospice, appointed as his Commissary Dr. Richard Hilyard,
who is another interesting personality to find connected
wi th the English Hospice. He also was an exile from his
country for his religious convictions, having compromised
himself with the English King by going about the Yorkshire
monasteries in I536, urging the religious to resist the sup-
pression of their houses, and to refuse to surrender their
trusts at the King's bidding. His arrest was ordered,
but he escaped into Scotland and thence to the Continent.
At one time, whilst in Rome, he must have written a History
of the Divorce of Henry VIII, which was apparently at
the English College when Fr. Parsons published the
Roman edition of Sander's Sthism, as he quotes passages
from it. Unfortunately it cannot now be found in the
archi ves.
Dr. Hilyard was succeeded in 1545 by Dr. Goldwell
for the second time, and he continued in office till 1548.
In this year Cardinal Pole was again appointed by the
Pope Custos of the Hospice, and he reappointed Dr. Gold-
well as his Commissary 1 for some years. The Cardinal's
account book 2 for the years 1548 to 1559 still exists, and it
affords many interesting particulars in regard to the manage-
ment of the Institution. The volume has for its frontis-
piece an illumination of the Holy Trinity with SS. Thomas
and Edmund, similar to that of Bishop Clerk's book, already
spoken of above. From the accounts for 1548, it appears
that those living in the Hospice were Bishop Peto, who had
two servants; Dr. Goldwell, who had one, and who was then
Commissary of the Cardinal, and the two Councillors, Dr.
1 1I1emb., July 6, 1548.
I Lib. 23.
56
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
Richard Hilyard and George Lilly. The latter has already
been mentioned, and at this time he was one of Pole's
chaplains. He was made a Canon of Canterbury in 1558,
and died the following year. Besides these, Cardinal Pole's
secretary, Michael Throckmorton, also had quarters in the
Hospital.
The following year, 1549, another chaplain of the Cardinal,
Henry Pynings, was Councillor of the house together with
George Lilly. At the end of this year, a note in the accounts
states that on December 3 U the Lord Bishop of Salisbury
(Peto) left the Hospice for the Hospital of S. Brigida," being
ill, and for the curious reason U propter inceptum conclave,"
the Hospice paying for him and two priests with him.
Perhaps the reason for his departure U because of the Con-
clave," is partially explained by a note of December 5,
two days later, when it is said: U to-day we were com-
pelled to receive soldiers to defend the house on rumours
of the election of the Pontiff."
The election here referred to was that of Cardinal del
Monte, after a long Conclave, extending from November 29,
1549, to February 8, 1550, when he took the name of Pope
Julius III. What specially affected the English Hospice
was that its Custos, Cardinal Pole, was very nearly elected
Pope on the 5th of December, on which, according to the
above note, the Hospice received a guard of soldiers, cc on
rumours of the election of the Pontiff. " We know all the
facts of this election from an important historical document,
which no doubt in order to preserve it has been inserted in
the Liber Ruber of the English College. 1 This document
was printed in 1909 by l\fgr. Cronin,2 then Vice-Rector of
the Venerabile. From his study of the paper he has been
able to show that these notes of the Conclave were made
by Bishop Goldwell, who had accompanied Cardinal Pole
as Conclavist, and who remained intimately attached to
the College, as we shall have occasion to see in the sequel.
These notes record the numbers of votes received by Pole
at each of the various scrutinies. In the first voting, on
December 3, Cardinal Pole had the greatest number of votes,
namely twenty-one; and on the third day-the 5th of
1 Archives, lib. 303. I In Rome, August 21, 1909.
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THE ENGLISH HOSPICE
57
December-he was only two votes short of the required
two-thirds of the Cardinals present, and they proposed to
elect him by U adoration." This, however, Pole refused to
allow, but he continued to the end to receive more than
twenty votes of the assembled Cardinals. There can be
little doubt, therefore, that it was the rumour in Rome that
the English Cardinal, Reginald Pole, had been elected to
fill the Papal throne, which caused the Hospice to be guarded
by soldiers on December 5, 1549, as recorded in the old
account book.
In 1550 at Cardinal Pole's orders there was buried in
the Church of the English Hospice, Marcantonio Flaminio,
the celebrated humanist scholar. Of this great Latinist,
the Bishop of Clifton writes: U In Mancurti's Life of
:Marcantonio Flaminio (1498-1550), prefixed to the complete
edition of the latter's Latin poems (Padua, 1743), it is
stated that the poet was buried the day after his death
in the Church of the English nation by order of Cardinal
Pole, whom he had fntrusted with the management of all
he had. Few of the poets of the Renaissance vie with him
in elegance, simplicity, and tenderness, and his life was
without reproach. Leo X was much delighted with him
as a boy, Paul III offered to make him secretary of the
Council of Trent, and Paul IV, then Cardinal Caraffa, aided
him in his last moments. He was long a member of the
household of Cardinal Pole, who treasured his portrait
after his death."
At this time another chaplain of Cardinal Pole found
his way to Rome in the person of Dr. Seth Holland, who
became Counsellor or Auditor of the Hospice. He returned
to England when Queen Mary came to the throne, and became
Dean of Worcester in 1557. He remained staunch to the
old religion in the days of Elizabeth and died in prison.
With the return of England to Catholic unity, whilst
many of the refugees for religious motives in the two previous
reigns returned to their country, the account book of Cardinal
Pole's administration shows that pilgrims and travellers
to Rome began again to seek the hospitality of the old
English Hospice. In 1553, for example, it is noted that
U now eight, now ten, now twelve persons are being received
58
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROl\IE
as strangers." On September 27 of that year the coming
of an II English musician" is recorded, and on his departure
on October 15, he is described as " the English Organist."
Unfortunately his name is not given. In this same month
of October 1553, a note in the margin of this volume states
that II a jubilee is granted on the 29th for the good result
of English affairs."
One or two items, from the accounts for the year 1555,
may be here noted as showing how matters of some interest
lie buried in the old books of the English College, awaiting
discovery by some one who will have the time and the
patience to search for them. On Saturday, March 23,
1555, for example, it is recorded that "to-day died the
Supreme Pontiff, Julius III": on the 1st of April, the
Conda ve is said to have begun, and on the loth, "the
creation and coronation OJ of Pope :Marcellus is noted down
by the accountant. On the 31st of May, there arrived at
the Hospice the Steward and a considerable part of the
suite of the English Ambassadors, and on the 5th of June,
the Ambassadors of Queen Mary made a solemn entry into
the city. On the Sunday following, June 9, which was in
that year Trinity Sunday, the English in Rome and many
others were invited to meet the Ambassadors who were
apparently staying at the Hospice.
Bishop Goldwell left Rome for England to take up the
charge of his diocese of St. Asaph in 1555, and the then
Ambassador of Queen Mary, Sir Edward Carne, was nomin-
ated by the Queen as his successor in the office of Custos
of the Hospital. This appointment was confirmed by Pope
Paul IV; 1 but Bishop Goldwell flying from persecution,
came to Rome once more an exile, in 1561, and returned to
the Hospice. From that time he continued to reside there;
two rooms- in subsequent accounts being called" l\ly Lord
of Asaph's chambers. OJ Before the Bishop's return, how-
ever, in 1560, the Pope, Pius IV, whilst confìnning the
Ordinances for the government of the Institution n1ade by
Paul III, relieved Sir Edward Carne of his office of Custos 2
When Queen Elizabeth came to the throne, and the
Elizabethan settlement of religion was imposed upon the
1 Memb., April 24, 1560.
II J.Uemb., April 24, 1560.
THE ENGLISH HOSPICE
59
English nation, the Hospice in Rome once more came to be
a place of refuge for some of the Catholic clergy, who were
able to escape to the Continent from the religious persecution.
With Bishop Goldwell, there arrived in Rome two of the
Welsh clergy, like him exiles for their religion, namely
Dr. Maurice Clagnòg, or Clenock, and Dr. Griffith Roberts
Dr. Clenock had been nominated, just before the death of
Queen Mary, to the Bishopric of Bangor, and he immediately
appointed his friend Griffith Roberts to the Archdeaconry of
Anglesey. Queen Elizabeth's religious settlement suspended
the appointments, and forced the two friends to leave
England. Dr. Griffith Roberts, like Clenock, was a member
of Christ Church, Oxford, and a very distinguished Welsh
scholar. On coming to Rome he took up his quarters in
the English Hospice, and in 1564 was one of the chaplains
of the establishment, which was then ruled by the exiled
Bishop of St. Asaph, Dr. Goldwell, as Custos. After the
death of Pope Pius IV in 1565, Dr. Roberts went with
St. Charles Borromeo to Milan, where he lived for many
years as the friend, counsellor and confessor of the saintly
Archbishop. In 1565, the Custos or Guardian of the English
Institution was the above-named Dr. Maurice Clenock, the
Welshman. He had been a chaplain to Cardinal Pole.
On leaving England he apparently found his way immediately
to Rome, where he remained either as a lodger, Custos or
Councillor of the Hospice until, in 1578, the Institution
was erected into the English College, of which he became
the first Rector.
From the Inventory of 1565 1 and the following years,
it is seen that, when Dr. Maurice Clenock first became the
Custos in that year, the following refugee Marian priests
were also living in the Hospice: Edward Tailer, William
Giblet, Henry Henshaw, Henry Alwaye 2 or Alwayt, Edward
Ampart, Robert Talacre, Edward Daniel, Mr. Gressope,
William Knott, John Seton, Thomas Kirton, Sir John
Neville, Robert Grapham, Nicholas Morton, Thomas Crane,
Sir Edward Carne, and John and Richard Barnard.
1 Lib. 33, f. 25.
! Henry Alwaye was in 1559 one of the chaplains of the Countess of
Feria, and as such obtained a passport to leave England.
60
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
Many of these names can be recognised as those of men
holding ecclesiastical positions in England before the change
of religion. For instance, William Giblet in his will, made
in 1590, describes himself as an exiled English priest:
Henry Henshaw was a Fellow of Lincoln College and Rector
of Merton College, Oxford, which office he resigned in 1560,
and crossed to the Continent to obtain freedom of con-
science: Edmund Daniel was Dean of Hereford and, in
giving evidence in Rome at an enquiry held in 1570 to deter-
mine the religious opinions of Queen Elizabeth, declared
that he himself had been present when that Queen forbade
the Elevation of the Sacred Host in the Mass. Dr. John
Seton had been a Fellow of St. John's, Cambridge, and had
been chaplain to Blessed John Fisher, and after him to
Bishop Gardiner of Winchester: Nicholas Morton was a
graduate and Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, and he
took his D.D. in Rome in 1554. He returned to England
in :Mary's reign, but fled abroad in the early days of Eliza-
beth, when it became obvious that her religious position
would once more sever the country from the unity of the
Faith.
A curious document, printed by Maziere Brady 1 seems
to show that the English Hospice, even in the reign of
Elizabeth, was regarded as the centre of English interests
in Rome, and as the place to which even Protestants would
naturally turn for help in any difficulty. The paper states
that, in 1564, Bishop Goldwell and thirteen priests living in
the English Hospice, were called upon to testify to the
character and position of Sir Richard Sackville and his son
Thomas. The fonner was a first cousin of Anne Boleyn,
and the priests of the Hospice are therefore correct in
testifying to his connection with royalty. The son, Thomas,
became first Earl of Dorset in 1567, three years after the
date of this curious document. He was a man of con-
siderable literary attainments, and these priests were thus
called upon to testify to the respectability and position of
these relatives of the Queen, who had driven them from their
own country to seek for liberty of conscience in Rome,
and of one who subsequently had officially to announce to
1 EPiscopal Succession, i. p. 87.
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THE ENGLISH HOSPICE
61
Mary Queen of Scots the sentence of death passed upon
her.
From the year 1565 to the erection of the Hospice into
the English College in 1578 the office of Custos was held in
turn by many of the exiled priests. Dr. Clenock was
succeeded in 1566 by Henry Henshaw, the old Rector of
Merton College, Oxford. He was succeeded the following
year by Edward Tailer, with Mr. Henshaw and Dr. Clenock
as the two Councillors. In 1568, Thomas Kirton with Dr.
Morton, the Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, and
Dr. Daniel, the exiled Dean of Hereford, were the officials
elected, and they were re-elected for a year or so as either
Governors or Councillors. In 1576 the name of Alan Cope 1
appears for the first time in the list of those having rooms
in the Hospice, and he became one of the two Councillors
in 1577, remaining in office the following year. Alan Cope
was a well-known writer. \Vhen he died in 1579 he left
his books to the English College. Some of these volumes
inscribed with his name are s"till on the shelves of the College
Library. For his soul an annual Mass was said in the
College Church on June 16, his anniversary.
The inventories, given in the old book of accounts for
the years 1523 to 1578, contain much that is of archæological
interest. Some items of information have already been
quoted. To these may be added one or two not uninteresting
facts. In 1569, besides the rooms occupied by the exiled
priests living in the Hospice, there were chambers set apart
for nobiles and for pauperes. Among the church books,
there were several :Missals of the Sarum rite. Two were
apparently Grayles, H de musica fracta," _H with masses,
hymns, etc.,"_H as well as four other missals for singing."
In 1576, the Inventory notes the possession of H two new
Roman Breviaries in 4 to ex typis Plantine" and H Missale
pulchrum ejusdem Plantine in folio," the gift of Sir Thomas
Englefield.
1 Alan Cope appears in a list of 1579 as in receipt of a pension of forty
florins a year from the Spanish Crown as a pensioner of the Duchess Feria.
CHAPTER III
THE FOUNDATION OF THE COLLEGE
THE two names which must always be associated with the
foundation of the Venerable English College in Rome are
those of Dr. Owen Lewis and Dr. William Allen. Dr. Lewis
had been a scholar of \Vinchester and a graduate of New
College, Oxford. At the beginning of the reign of Queen
Elizabeth he was forced to exile hinlself from England for
conscience' sake. He took up his abode at Douay and
becan1e Regius Professor of Law at the University and
subsequently Archdeacon of Cambray. He fully entered
into the views of Dr. \Villjam Allen, and helped him in
the establishment of the SenlÌnary for the training of priests
for the English Mission. Dr. Owen Lewis was a man of
sound learning and possessed considerable influence with
ecclesiastics of all ranks. The Archbishop of Cambray sent
him to Rome to act as his Proctor in some business, and
remaining in the Eternal City, he obtained the confidence
of the Pope and of Cardinal :Morone, the Cardinal Protector
of the English nation. He lodged at the old English
IIospice, which he found at that time was serving mainly
as a refuge for exiled priests. Feeling keenly like Dr. Al1en
the need for missionary priests in England, he came to the
conclusion It that it would be of great service to England
and the Church, if some youths could be lodged with the
Chaplains of the English Hospice in order to devote them-
selves to study, since the chaplains although pious were
old and not addicted to studies of any kind." 1
The Pope, to whom he eXplained his scheme in con-
junction with Dr. Allen, then on one of his visits to Rome,
fully entered into it, and desired to have students sent by
1 MS. Vatican 3494 (written A.D. 1582).
62
THE FOUNDA TION OF THE COLLEGE 63
Dr. Allen from Douayand elsewhere, who should be sup-
ported out of the revenues of the old Hospital, which were
left after the maintenance of the Chaplains and the poor
had been secured. As it at once became evident, however,
that this residue would not support nlany scholars, the
Pope determined to help the scheme out of his own purse,
and set apart also some houses in the vicinity of St. Peter's
for the reception of the scholars expected from Doua y. In
these houses, apparently even before the arrival of the youths
expected from Dr. Allen's seminary in Flanders, Dr. Owen
Lewis gathered together such young Englishmen as he found
in Rome at the time who desired to embrace the clerical
state. 1
This first beginning must have been sometime about
1575, since after Dr. Allen's visit to Rome in 1576, the
further project of utilising the old Hospice and its revenues
was practically decided upon by the IIoly Father. It was
alnlost certainly Dr. Lewis who suggested the placing of this
nucleus of the English Seminary near St. Peter's under the
care of Dr. Maurice Clenock. a \Velshman like himseìf and
his very good friend.
Clenock at this time had been connected with the Hospice
in Rome for many years. and had held various offices in the
establishnlent since he was first elected Custos or Warden
in 1565.2 On the 26th of
lay. 1576, in which year. as already
pointed out. the first beginnings of the English Seminary
were nlade in some houses near St. Peter's. Dr. Clenock
was again chosen \Varden of the IIospital. and he held that
office also the next year. \Vhen, therefore, the more
ambitious project of taking over the buildings of the old
Hospital and utili sing them for the students expected from
Doua y was placed before the Pope by Dr. Owen Lewis. his
friend Dr. Clenock, as \VTarden of the Hospice. was naturally
the man who could assist the schenle or inlpede it. He
was the master of the house. and some of the students who
first arrived in Rome from Douay were lodged in the old
English Hospice itself. In this second year of Dr. Clenock's
office as \Varden-1577--roonls are found assigned in the
1 Acts oj Visit., 1738-9, Art. I.
Z At'chives, lib. 33, p. 63.
64
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
old account book 1 of the establishment to Mr. Askew, :Mr.
Ball, Mr. Holt, l\h. Lowe and :Mr. Mush-all of whonl
according to the Douay Diaries were at this time sent off
by Dr. Allen to begin their work in Rome as students.
Dr. Allen, so intimately connected ",ith the beginning
of the College, is of course the wen-known founder of the
Seminaries of Douay and RheÌIns, the future Cardinal.
He had been an Oxford man, a Fellow of Oriel and Principal
of St. :Mary's Hall. His zeal for the Faith and his Catholic
spirit made it impossible for him to accept Elizabeth's
religious settlement, and so going abroad in 1561 he settled
at Louvain. In 1567 he came to Rome as a pilgrim, where
he found many English refugee priests living in the old
English Hospice, with Dr. Edmund Taylour as "Varden
and Clenock and Henshaw as Councillors. Returning to
the Low Countries, and being impressed with the instant
need of priests in England, with the help of rnany ell1inent
divines he comlllenced the Seminary at Douay in 1568.
"Vhen the project of establishing a similar College in Rome
seemed likely to succeed, he came to Ronle and agreed, at
the Pope's request, to send some Douay students to begin
the work. In the year 1577, immediately upon Allen's
return home, ten of these started for Rome. Their names
as given in the Douay Diaries are "Villiam Holt, :Martin
Array, Edward Rishton, Ralph Sherwin already priests,
and John Askew and William Harrison deacons; with
Thomas Bell, John :Mush and John Lowe unordained students.
Shortly after the first alUllzni had left Doua y, the elninent
scholar Dr. Gregory :Martin set out also for Rome to help,
as the writer of the DOllay Diary remarks, the new Estab-
lishment It tam adjulllento qumll ornamento." On his
arrival in Rome, Dr. :Martin was elected one of the Chaplains
of the old Hospice and was lodged there. 2 Certainly his
name is one that honours the old place by being connected
with it, although his stay was only brief. He was a scholar
of St. John's College, Oxford, taking his degree of :M.A. in
1565. In 1570 for conscience' sake he fled abroad, and
coming to Douay and being ordained in 1573, he was
1 I. pp. 26-7.
2 Archives, lib. 33. Account Book 1577.
THE FOUNDA TION OF THE COLLEGE 65
appointed lecturer in the University on Hebrew and Holy
Scripture.
Of the ten students who in this first year came to Rome,
the first to be sent to England as a missionary priest was
John Askew, who had COllle from Douay as a deacon. He
was the first priest to be ordained at the College, and he left
in 1579-" primus ex Anglorum Collegio de Urbe." 1 The
Annual Letters of the English College 2 has the following entry
in regard to hhn: ":May.-During the saIne year (1579) in
the month of :May, we sent fronl this College into England
the Rev. John Askew, an English priest and divine. The
Rector took him to Tusculum, where he was most graciously
received by His I-Ioliness, who besiùes granting him several
indulgences and pious gifts, furnished him v..-ith funds for
his journey. This is the first labourer our College has sent
into the English vineyard."
It will be of interest to set down what happened in regard
to the rest of the first students who came from Douay and
became the foundation stones of the Roman College.
Fr. William Holt joined the Society of Jesus and became
the Rtctor of the College in 1586.
iartin Array departed
for the English Mission in 1580, and having suffered im-
prisonment for his faith, at length "had favour to be
banished." Edward Rishton went to England in the same
year, 1580, and being captured as a seminary priest,
was tried and condemned to death at the same time as
Fr. Edmund Campion. He was, however, reprieved and
banished. He wrote the valuable" Diary of Events in the
Tower of London," the supplement to the Roman edition of
Sander's History of the English Schism.
The next in order, Fr. Ralph Sherwin, became the proto-
martyr of the English College, being executed for his religion
with Fathers Campion and Briant at Tyburn in 158r.
\\ïllianl Harrison, who canIe to Rome as a deacon, went to
England in 1581 with forty-six other lllissionary priests,
thirteen of whom subsequently suffered martyrdom. He
himself escaped with his life, but is said to have been im-
prisoned for his faith. Thomas Bell was originally a convert
to the Faith, and having been ordained in Rome, left for
1 Douay Diaries, i. p. 26. Z Foley, Records, etc., vi. p, 67'
F
66
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
England in 1582. He was seized on landing in the country,
and after enduring nluch in prison, unhappily fell away
and became a Government spy and a bitter anti-Catholic
controversialist. IIis companion, John :Mush, reached
England in 1583. He worked strenuously in the north of
England, and was regarded as a prudent and learned man.
He wrote several controversial books, including one against
the apostate Bell, his old companion in Rome. Finally
John Lowe, having been ordained priest by Bishop Goldwell
in 1582, left for the :Mission the following year. He received
the martyr's crown at Tyburn on October 8, 1586.
But to return to the story of the early beginnings of the
College. The first colony dispatched by Dr. Allen from
Douay was added to in 1577 and in the following year, 1578,
until by May 26 of the latter year Dr. Gregory Martin was
able to write from Ronle saying, that twenty-six theological
students from Douay were living either in the Hospice or
in the house next door, with which there is internal
communication. He adds: It two fathers of your society
(Jesuits) are there by command of the Pontiff and at the
request of Cardinal l\Iorone, the Protector. They super-
intend the studies and the foundations of the new establish-
luent may be considered to be well laid. The Pope assigns
thell1 at present a fixed pension of 100 crowns a month.
Our friend Bristow is expected at Rome before l\1ichaelmas
to give the benefit of his experience and also to help the
seminary." 1
The actual course of events in these early years of the
English College is somewhat obscure. It is generally assumed
that Dr. Owen Lewis obtained the appointnlent of Dr.
:Maurice Clenock as first Rector of the College, partly because
in 1578 he was the actual Warden of the old Hospice. But
the fact is that although Dr. Clenock held that office in the
years J576 and 1577, at the election held by the fraternity
on May 17, 1578, !\'Ir. Henry Henshaw was chosen by the
brethren in his place. 2 It is inlpossible not to suspect the
reason for this nlove on the part of the old members of the
Hospi tal. Their wish was to safeguard their own vested
interests, which seemed threatened by the new foundation
1 Douay Diaries, i. Ap. 316. 2 Archives, lib. 33, sub an. 1578.
THE FOUNDATION OF THE COLLEGE 67
in their old premises. This move, however, appears to have
hastened the accomplishment of the plans of the Pontiff.
At any rate, the election of 11r. Henshaw in his place as
\-Varden nlust have placed Dr. Clenock in a very difficult
position, for with the students actually living in the old
Hospice buildings and in the house next door, the place
itself and all its corporate property was no longer under
his n1anagement, but under that of the new Warden, Mr.
Henshaw.
It is not dit1i.cult to conjecture that since Dr. Clenock
was the \-Varden of the Hospice, when the project oi
utili sing it for the new College was first mooted by Dr. Lewis
and approved by the Pope, he would naturally have been
regarded as the best man to continue to rule the establish-
nlent when the students canle to live there. At any rate,
beyond the fact that it was subsequently stated by Dr. Allen
that the choice of Dr. Clenock was nlade by Dr. Owen Lewis,
there does not appear to have been any formal appoint-
ment of the actual \-Varden as first Rector. It is easy to
conjecture, therefore, that the brethren of the Hospice, not
wishing to be disturbed in their possession of their old
house, and probabJy considering that Dr. Clenock was
conlmitted to the contenlplated changes, thought to save
themselves by not again electing Dr. Clenock in 1578.
During 1578, although Dr. Clenock was no longer the
head of the Hospice, he continued to be Rector of the students.
His position could not have been an enviable one, as his
authority over the buildings and property of the establish-
ment had ceased with the election of his successor as \-Varden.
The main work of the College was done, according to the
suggestion of Dr. Allen hinlself and the special wish of the
Pope and the Protector, Cardinal :Morone, by two Jesuit
fathers. Dr. Allen, it is well to renlember, was a great
advocate for securing the help of the Jesuits in the new
undertaking, and in October 1578 he wrote to Fr. :Mercu-
rianus, the General of the Society, thanking him in the
warmest terms for having pemlitted his fathers to under-
take the charge of the students, and expressing his earnest
wish that the arrangement might be a lasting one. 1
1 Tierney's Dodd. ü. Ap. ccclxxiv.
68
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
It is certainly abundantly clear that Dr. Allen had 110
belief in the capacity of Dr. Clenock as the ruler of the
College. In fact, as he subsequently says, he thought
Dr. l.ewis's choice a n1istake. He is quite clear about this,
and adds that others at Douay agree with him. It Right
sorry we were," he writes, (( of the error that :Mr. Maurice
(Clenock) was made Rector, and gladly would have had,
if the Jesuits might not or would not have been, rather
Dr. Bristow" For that both his quality was excellent and
his person graceful and he was a divine, which had been more
fit than one of another profession; 1 besides the country,
which you know many respect, how well and wisely I do
not say. Therefore that he or smne other like was not
chosen or first appointed at the beginning, it was as I told
you an error: the rather noted because Mr. Maurice being
otherwise a very honest and friendly nlan and a great
advancer of the students and seminary's cause, which was
no fault in you (i. e. Dr. Owen Le'wis). I dare be bold to say,
but yet an escape and default in managing the affair, be-
cause you did not dehort Mr. :Maurice from taking upon
him the charge in the beginning for which indeed no dis-
honour be it unto him, he was not sufficient." 2
Towards the close of the year 1578 there would appear
to have been some difficulty about the property of the old
Hospice and its management, which, as already pointed out,
in :May of this year, by the action of the brethren of the
Institution, had been taken out of the hands of Dr. Clenock
and vested in those of Mr. Henry Henshaw as their elected
Warden. Before the year closed, however, this unsatis-
factory state of affairs had been brought to an end by the
Supreme pontifical authority. Fr. Parsons writes at the
end of the year: It ,At Christmas a brief came out from the
Pope's Holiness commanding all the old Chaplains to depart
within fifteen days and assigning all the rents of the
Hospital unto the use of the seminary, which was presently
obeyed by the said priests."
The original of this Brief of Pope Gregory XIII apparently
does not exist at present, but that it was issued cannot be
1 Dr. Clenock was a Professor of Laws.
Z Letters and Mems. of Cardinal Allen, p. 79.
THE FOUNDA TION OF THE COLLEGE 69
doubtful, and there is another reference to it in a letter
written by Dr. Gregory Martin on February 18, 1579, to
Fr. Campion from Rheims : II \Vith regard to public matters,"
he writes, II it is worthy of eternal memory that the Sovereign
Pontiff Gregory XIII has lately confirmed the seminary
at Ronle which has been growing up for more than two
years since its excellent beginnings. There are in it at the
present 1110ment forty-two of our students, most of whom
are divines, one Rector, three fathers of your Society and
six servants. They live in the hospital and the adjoining
house. The revenues of the hospital having been transferred
to the sen1Ìnary, except what is required for the entertain-
ment of pilgrims." 1
Christmas 1578 may therefore be taken as the date when
the old corporation of the English Hospice in Rome came to
an end by the transfer of its property to the new CoHege.
and :Mr. Henry Henshaw may be regarded as the last Warden
of the old establishment. Dr. Owen Lewis obtained from
the Pope for each of the six chaplains and for l\1r. Henshaw
adequate pensions on vacating their old quarters. 2
The first beginnings of the College were not tranquil.
Early in 1579 grave internal difficulties arose in the admin-
istration. It seems to be admitted on all hands that Dr.
Clenock was a most incompetent ruler, unsuited for the
difficult post of Rector. He had been placed in his position,
partly, as already pointed out, by reason of his occupying
the post of Warden of the old Hospital at the time, but
mainly through the influence of his powerful friend and
fellow-countryman, Dr. Owen Lewis. It must be allowed
in his defence that he had a very delicate position as the
Head of a College mainly directed by members of the Society
of Jesus. These fathers were naturally not entirely under
his jurisdiction, and had been placed in their offices by the
Supreme authority of the Pope hinlself. It is, however,
-right to say that in these early troubles, the fathers appear
to have acted with great pnldence, and so far as can be
gathered from the original documents had nothing whatever
1 Douay Diaries, i. Ap. 319. The Pope's bull erecting the College was
dated May 7. 1579. Archives (orig.), memb. (lib. v. p. 283, lib. 242, copies).
2 Tierney's Dodd. iii. Ap. ccclxiv.
7 0
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN RO
T\,fE
to do with the beginning of the troubles, nor with the final
solution of the difficulties, which has been thought to throw
some suspicion on their motives.
National rivalry and jealousy seems to have been the
initial cause of the disorders which broke out among the
students in I579. The English students, who formed the
majority-being thirty-three out of forty-considered that
they were unjustly treated by the Rector, who being \Velsh
hinlself, unduly favoured the seven \Velshmen. They
regarded Dr. Clenock and his friend and adviser Dr. Owen
Lewis, also a \Velshman, as being violent partisans. They
conlplained that the \Velsh were a quarrelsome and uncouth
set, with whonl it was impossible to live in peace. The
Rector, they declared, gave each Welshman a room to
himself, while the English had to be content with the
narrowest corners. The \Velshmen were made comfortable
in the winter with new and warm clothing, whilst the
English had only their old torn sumnler cassocks. The
docunlent which the English students presented to Cardinal
Morone the Protector, does not mince matters, but declares
the rule of the \Velsh Superior and Dr. Owen Lewis" in-
tolerable," and the memorialists end by dedaring that they
would rather leave the Seminary than submit to such tyranny
and oppression. 1
In February 1579 the students broke out into open
mutiny. They sent deputations to the Pope and to Cardinal
Morone denlanding the instant disn1Ìssal of Dr. Clenock,
and petitioning that the Government of the College should
be placed in the hands of the Jesuits. The Cardinal Pro-
tector and subsequently the Pope sternly supported the
authority of the Rector, and told the malcontents either to
obey his authority or to leave the College. The students
were obdurate. The Cardinal lost his temper, threatened
them with imprisonment and whipping, and finally told them
" abire in malam crucem "-to go and be hanged.
The students remained firnl in their deternlÌnation never
to submit to Welsh rule, and declared their determination
to return to England and beg their way thither, rather than
continue their present impossible life at the English College.
1 Archives, lib. 304, printed in Tierney, ii. Ap. cccxlvi.
THE FOUNDATION OF THE COLLEGE 7 1
Meanwhile there was even danger of bloodshed within the
College walls. The students wrangled with the Rector in
the College refectory. "He began at the table," writes one
of the English Inalcontents, "presently to revile sonle of
our company with foul words, and (the \Velshmen) preparing
their knives in their hands to have strucken son1e of those
that sat next to them. . . . Judge you, what tirne we had
to look unto ourselves. But if it had not been for the
common cause and for God's especially, we had been sure
to have payed (them) for it." 1
Petitions and counter-petitions to the Cardinal Protector
and interviews with hinl resulted only in strengthening
Cardinal Morone's detennination to subdue the rebellion.
Orders at last came to the College that
Iartin Array, John
:Mush, John Gore and Richard Haydock should at once
swear obedience to Dr. Clenock or lay down their cassocks
and depart. In case they refused, they were to be sent at
once to prison. No sooner was this order made known,
than all the students of the English party declared that they
would throw in their lot with their four leaders and go out
of the College with them.
This brought matters to an issue, and the Jesuit fathers
connected with the College went to Cardinal Morone and
begged to be allowed to vvithdraw from their work there, if
the decree of expulsion was to be carried into effect. This
he refused to consider until he had consulted the General.
The proposed scheme of the fathers was that Mr. Clenock
should nonlinally continue Rector and should have the
Hospital, but that the students should be entirely under
their Jesuit teachers. The English expressed thenlselves
ready to accept this solution, but when the General of the
Society was approached in regard to it, he expressly forbade
the Jesuits to meddle in the matter.
A full and graphic account of what took place was given at
the time by
1r. Richard Haydock in a letter to Dr. Allen. 2
From this, the main facts of the sequel to the story are
known. Tuesday
Iarch 3 was Shrove Tuesday, and Dr.
1 Mr. Richard Haydock to Dr. Allen (Tierney's Dodd. iii. Ap. cccliv).
2 J_etters a'zd i'IIerns. of Cardinal Allen, p. ï4 (printed from Tierney,
ii. Ap. cccl .
7 2
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN R011,IE
Clenock informed the English at dinner time in the refectory
that they were to leave the College that night. But as supper
had been prepared for all, in fact they did not depart that
day, and in the afternoon six of them went to try and see
the Pope to present him with another Inemorial and get
his blessing before leaving. By chance they caIne upon the
Holy Father in St. Peter's, but he would barely speak to
theIn, calling them ejecti, and adding "si non potestis obedire,
recedatis," whereupon, says Richard Haydock, "we requested
his benediction and he lifted up his hands and blessed us;
whereat his countenance changed wonderfully. We left our
supplication," says the narrator, "with him and departed
for that night, coming away to the hospital. We remained
there that night."
The next day was Ash \Vednesday, and early in the
morning thirty-three English students marched in a body out
of the College. They went to the house of an Englishman
named John Creed, where they dined. Their action dis-
concerted those who had been opposed to them, since they
never believed that they \vould carry matters so far. The
students, however, appeared cheerful enough and declared
that they would go in procession with a cross before them to
RheÌIns, or if need be to England. "In very deed," says
Haydock, "we were fully appointed of departing, thirty-three
in company; having nothing in the world to bear our charges.
Yet no Inan, from the highest to the lowest, was anyway
discomforted. . . . Mr. Archdeacon (Dr. Owen Lewis) denied
to give one penny to any." So the students paraded the
streets of Rome, going from church to church asking ahns.
On that Ash Wednesday (March 4), "the first day of preach-
ing," the Jesuit Fathers without naming them asked help
for their special case, and those who knew them at College
interested many in them and quickly provided a sum of
money Inore than sufficient to Ineet their immediate needs
or for those of their journey.
"But God provided for us otherwise. . . . The answer
unto our supplication unto the Pope was, that we should come
to kiss his foot before we departed; which we were glad of
wonderfully and proposed that, before we should depart;
Ineaning to defer it a day or two, for fear we should seem
THE FOUNDA TION OF THE COLLEGE 73
importunate." They employed the delay in making friends
with the Cardinal Protector and some other Cardinals his
friends in order to assure His Holiness as they say" that we
departed not of any obstinacy or Inisliking, but only moved
by our conscience: meaning for ever to remain in due obedi-
ence unto the See Apostolic and all our Superiors." Whilst
this plan was being carried out, a Inessenger arrived at the
Hospital bidding the malcontents go to the Pope at once.
I t was said that they had already gone, but the father was
told to find them and let them know at once. This" the
father did not slacken to do; and, finding one in the streets
by him called the rest. . . who, going to the house where
we had dined and finding sixteen or seventeen there, went
immediately unto the palace not knowing what was fore-
warned. "
" They, kissing His Holiness's foot began to request His
Holiness's blessing, before they departed. And here the
Inost Blessed Father in the world, whereas they were in
doubt what he would do, began to burst into tears, and asked
-' and are you then gone out of the seminary?' They
answered, 'Yea:' and he said-' Why would you go out
unknown to me, or not telling Ine before?' They answer
, that the Cardinal had twice in his name commanded us.'
And he asked whither they Ineant to go? And they told
him, some into England, those that were fit, being priests
and n1any others divines. 'Why' said he, 'be they so
young, divines?' (meaning Christopher Owen, Pitts and
GratIey). And they answered, 'Yea,' and all the rest
philosophers and logicians alike. Said he: 'Why would
you depart fron1 Rome, where good manners and religion and
learning is to be gotten ? You must not in any wise depart,
but you shall go home again, and have what you desire.'
" Which when they heard him speak so heartily they all
fell weeping very fast, that they were heard to sob and
could scarce speak unto him and he to them. And he
asked them where they had dined? And they told him
where, and how we prepared our dinner with our own hands;
and that others of the company were going about the town,
providing for our meat and viaticum to depart with. And
he said: 'You should have come to me first for your viati-
74
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN RO
fE
cum. But go home again, and give me the names of some of
your countrymen; and you shall have one of them: for this
you shall have no longer.' And so kissing his foot again,
with such joy that is not possible to express, they departed.
H And as they were going, he asked, if ' they would not one
of his chamberlains to go home with theIll?' And they said
'yes,' because they were not sure that Mr. Maurice (Clenock)
would credit them: and so he rung his bell for one of them,
whOIll he sent with them unto our house."
The following day, March 5, the students presented to
the Pope the names of two Englishmen then in Rome since
they feared to name others who were elsewhere, for fear that
if they had to wait Dr. Owen Lewis might find a means of
defeating their object. The two names the students sug-
gested were Dr. Morton, a refugee priest from England,
formerly Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, who had long
been living in the old Hospice, and Dr. Bernard, also a priest
in exile for his religion. It was made quite clear by certain
Cardinals both to Dr. Owen Lewis and to Dr. Clenock, that
the Pope was determined to make great changes in the College,
and the last efforts of the two \Velsh friends were to try and
secure the office of Custos of the Hospital for the latter.
II That is it, that they aim at," writes Haydock, "and that
is it, we meddle nothing with, but in order to our seminary:
for, if he get it as like he shall, it will be, at the least, five
hundred crowns a year, close unto our seminary." He adès
that Dr. Owen Lewis" would make us believe that he pro-
cured our return again. But we know he had appointed
to have set, or to have taken himself the house we dwell in,
and had appointed lrishIllen and Scottishmen in our places."
The strife was at end before Easter 1579. Neither Dr.
Morton nor Dr. Bernard was nominated to the Rectorship,
nor did the retired Rector, Dr. Clenock, get the Wardenship
of the old Hospice, as the English students thought he would.
A pension was provided by the Pope for him; but what
became of him is not certain. He disappeared from Rome,
and according to one account he was drowned at sea in 1580,
whilst on a voyage to Spain. 1
:Meanwhile by Easter the College was placed by the Pope
1 Dict. oj Nat. Biography.
THE FOUNDATION OF THE COLLEGE 75
under the care of the Jesuits, which was the original solution
suggested by the English students. The first entry in the
" Annual Letter of the English College, Rome," is as follows:
"!\-Iarch-An I579-in the month of March, the most
Illustrious Cardinal Morone conveyed to the Rev. Fr. Everard
Mercurianus, General of the Society of Jesus, the command
of His Holiness, Pope Gregory XIII, to the effect that he
should undertake the charges and administration of this
English College, until then directed by the Rev. Maurice
Clenock. It was out of obedience that he accepted a burden
which he was Illost unwilling to bear." 1 This would cer-
tainly appear to have been the attitude of the Father-General
throughout towards the English College. When the crisis
was acute and some of the fathers, especially those who had
been the teachers and advisers of the English students,
desired to help them as against their then Rector, the General
expressly forbade them to do so, or in any way to manifest
their sympathy with the Illovement of the students to get
rid of their superior.
Immediately after the Society had taken over the charge
of the College, Father Agazzari, S.]., was appointed by his
General the first Jesuit Rector of the English College. When
this had been done, Father Parsons wrote on :March 30 a
long letter to Dr. Allen on the whole affair. In it he writes :-
" Though the issue of this contention hath brought forth
some good effects for benefit of this new College, which per-
haps would not have ensued (or at least not so soonc) if th:s
sharp bickerment had not fallen out, yet have there many
things passed therein which I could wish had been undone,
or at least done with some more moderation on all hands,
and this for the credit of our whole nation.
" Touching :Mr. Morrice (Clenock) his Government, I think
verily and do partly know also that it was insufficient for
such a mu
titude; and how could it be otherwise, he being
alone without help and never practised in such a Illanage
before? The schollers alsoe were very evil provided for
necessaries, sometimes going all ragged and in worse case,
some of them at least (and those of the principal) as I have
seen with mine eyes. National partialities also in distribu-
1 Foley, Records, etc., vi. p. 67.
7 6
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
tion of things I think was not so carefully avoyded as ought
to have bin. Yet could I have wished the schollers to have
dealt more moderately for redresse, if it might have bin,
and at least I would the difference between Welsh and English
had not bin so often named, or so n1uch urged here aIllong
strangers. . . . But who can stay young men or ould eyther,
once incensed on both sides by national contentions? You
know what passeth in Oxford in like occasions."
The writer then presses Dr. Allen to come at once to Rome
to assist in "the pacifying of grudges between the two
nations, seeing Mr. Dr. Lewis is your great friend." Also
Father Parsons hopes that he n1ay induce the General of the
Society to send some of the fathers to labour with the other
priests on the English Illission on which many wish" to
adventure their blood." 1
Dr. Allen could not come to Rome at once, but on May 12,
1579, wrote fully and frankly on the recent troubles and their
settlement to his old most dearly beloved friend Dr. Owen
Lewis. In this and other letters he does not conceal his own
great pleasure that the main result of the Illutiny, which
otherwise he deplores, has been to place the fathers of the
Society in full possession of the College. " The committing
the house to the Society," he says, " was all our desires and
right sorry we were of that error that Mr.
1:aurice was made
rector, and gladly would have had, if the Jesuits might not,
or would not have been, rather Dr. Bristow. . . . That he
or some other like was not chosen or first appointed at the
beginning, it was as I told you an error." 2
As already noted, in the opinion of some of the English
students, Dr. Clenock desired to continue 'Varden of the old
Hospice, after he had been called upon to surrender the rector-
ship of the Seminary to Father Agazzari. It was not till the
August of this year 1579, that the matter was finally settled
in favour of the College. The Annual Letter under August
has this entry: " In the month of August the Most Illustrious
Cardinal Morone waited upon His Holiness concerning the
Church of the Most Holy Trinity and St. Thomas (of Canter-
bury) hitherto administered by the Rev. Maurice Clenock
Warden of the Hospital of the English Pilgrims. He ob-
I Letters and Mems. of Cardinal Allen, pp. 74-5. Z lb., pp. 78-9.
THE FOUNDATION OF THE COLLEGE 77
tained leave that the use property and administration of the
said church should be assigned to this College of English
scholars. We have therefore taken possession of the church,
with its furniture and sacred vessels, the catalogue of which
is kept in the College. JJ 1
Before this, however, the College had been granted full
possession of the property of the Hospice by the Pope,
although the execution of the transfer was delayed for SOllle
time. On April 23,1579, His Holiness Gregory XIII signed
the bull which canonically founded the English College,
but owing to some practical difficulties, and the attitude of
the members of the old corporation, the document was not
published until the 23rd of December of the year following,
1580.
In this document the Pontiff begins by stating the
motives and object of the new foundation. He has renlem-
bered the claims of England on the attention of the Holy See:
he has seen its youths flying from persecution in their own
country to seek instruction in Rome; and he has determined
to assist them in their holy purpose, to provide for them the
Illeans of education and thus to qualify theIll for the arduous
and important duty of declaring the truths of rel
gion to
their deluded countrymen. With this intention, therefore,
he erects a College in the Hospital of St. Thomas, wherein
not less than fifty English students shall be constantly
educated in whatever Illay tend to fit them for the exercise
of the sacred Illinistry. For their residence, he gives to them
the hospital and two contiguous houses, hitherto occupied
by the chaplains or brethren of the establishment and the
Church of the
Iost Holy Trinity and St. Thomas: for the
support of the College, Rector and students he endows it
with all the property, houses and goods Illoveable and im-
Illoveable hitherto belonging to the ancient Hospital, and he
bestows on it an annual pension of six thousand crowns.
Further he exempts the College thus constituted from the
payment of all taxes and places it immediately under his own
jurisdiction. Having invested it with all the privileges of a
University, the Pope appoints Cardinal Morone the Protector,
through whose intervention whatever difficulties the new
1 Foley, Records, etc., vi. p. 67.
7 8
THE' ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
Institution may encounter, may be adjusted. Finally the
Holy Father directs that each student before being admitted
to the College should take an oath to lead a life befitting the
clerical state and declare his readiness to return at the will
of superiors to England and there labour for the good of
souls.
With this Bull of Pope Gregory XIII the foundations of
the Venerable English College were securely laid. The date
-December 23, Is8a-when the Bull of Foundation was
published is thus noted in the College Annals: U A.D. 1580, on
the 23rd of Decelnber, to the praise and glory of the Most
Holy Trinity and of St. Thomas the Martyr was expedited
the Bull of the Foundation of the College, which though it
was granted by Pope Gregory XIII in April last year, did
not reach our hands before the above date, and in which as
besides Inany faculties and spiritual and temporal favours
all the goods of the English Hospices were united with the
College. \Ve received possession of them on the 29th of
December which is dedicated to St. Thomas the Martyr and
although it does not explicitly appear in the Bull yet the Pope
declared by word of Inouth that this College was bound to
receive and maintain the English pilgrims according to the
statutes of the said Hospice. This Bull has been deposited
in the College Archives." 1
1 Lib. ii. 12.
.
CHAPTER IV
A PERIOD OF UNREST
HAVING laid the foundations of the College by his bull,
Pope Gregory XIII continued to show himself a munificent
benefactor during the rest of his life. The nUlnber of
students was originally settled at fifty; but this was soon
increased. Dr. Allen arrived in Rome on October 12, 1579,
as he had been urgently requested to do by his friends, ever
since the first difficulties in the College had been settled and
the Jesuits had been given charge of the new foundation. He
had brought with him frOIn Douay four newly ordained
priests 1 that they Inight finish their studies in the Eternal
City; but on his arrival he found that the determined
number of students of the English College was already filled
up. He, however, applied to the Pope to be allowed to
place the students whom he had brought with him in the
esta blishment.
It On October 13th the most Reverend William Allen,"
says the Annual Letter, It on the Inorrow of his arrival in
ROIne, went to Tusculum with the Reverend Father Alphon-
sus, Rector of the College. Having been admitted to an
audience by His Holiness Pope Gregory XIII, he said that
the number fifty fixed by His Holiness was already filled
up, but that he had brought with him from England some
students, for whose admission to the College he prayed. His
Holiness answered that he would have none refused, for it
was his pleasure that every Englishman cOIning to Rome
should be received into the College if proved capable. This
he repeated on another occasion to the most Reverend Father
Allen and to the Rector. The same day on hearing that John
Pascal, a former pensioner of this College, was unable to pay
his dues, as his property in England had been confiscated.
1 Douay Diaries, i. p. 27.
79
80
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
His Holiness commanded that the said gentleman should
remain in the College as a student and forgave him all his
debts." 1
Dr. Allen wrote to Douay to announce his safe arrival in
Rome and to say with what great kindness he had been
received by the Holy Father and by the chief Cardinals. He
also expressed his gratification at the good spirit he found
existing in the new College. He was lodged, he says, in the
SeIninary and had his own table to which he could invite
whom he wished, the Pope paying all expenses. When he
first saw His Holiness in the interview above reported, on
the Pope expressing his pleasure at seeing him, Allen repJied
that he had come .. to visit the alun1ni of Your Holiness," as
he had been asked to do. To this the Pope replied, .. Not my
alumni, Allen; they are yours rather than mine." In the
same letter Dr. Allen remarks on the great kindness shown
to him and his party by Cardinal Paleotti, the Archbishop of
Bologna, who would not allow any of them to remain in an
inn, but having paid all their expenses already incurred, took
them to his own palace. To Dr. Ely the -Cardinal, showing
his house, said: .. This place is a Hospice for the English." 2
But Allen's journey to Rome was dictated by other
reasons than his Inere wish to see for himself how the students
of the College had settled down after the recent troubles.
He had watched the events from Rheims with an anxious
heart, dreading that the spirit of discord might perhaps
spread to Rheims. He looked anxiously for any indication
of the disease, and as he told Dr. Owen Lewis, he made a
point of always being present in hall for meals, notwith-
standing his bad health, in order to hear what was being said.
He thought he detected in certain letters written from Rome,
some signs that" the Scottish nation begin to put in for it, ,
and it is reported, he tells Dr. Lewis, .. that you once said
to Iny Lord of Rosse: 'My Lord, let us stick together, for
we are the old and true inhabiters and owners of the Isle
of Britany. These others [meaning the English] are but
usurpers and mere possessors."
Such rumours made Allen fear that the turmoil was not
1 DOHay Diaries, i. p. 158.
2 Annual Letters, Foley, Records, vi. p. 68.
A PERIOD OF UNREST
81
entirely at an end: more especially, as he says, one Hughes
of a bitter, odd and incompatible nature" had written to me
and to Dr. Bristowe most plainly, that the Jesuits have been
and shall be proved, the council and counsellors of all these
tumults. II Allen, though he entirely disbelieved this, was
much disturbed by the evidence of a still seething discontent.
I t was reported to him that this same Hughes had said, that
H the Jesuits have no skill nor experience of our Country's
state, nor of our men's nature," and that "their trade of
syllogizing there is not fit for the use of our people. II There
was much of the same kind and not a few hints that the new
Jesuit Rector << must be put out." No wonder then if Dr.
Allen, ill as he then was, was much disturbed in mind, fearing
to get news of " new and endless stirs." He even told Dr.
Owen Lewis, that if this goes on " I shall be weary of my life. "I
SO rather than wait at home, he took his way to Rome to see
for himself.
Moreover, by the autumn of 1579, the signs of new
difficulties became so menacing, that Father Parsons wrote
begging Allen not to delay his visit, but to come and help to
make peace. Up to this time the fathers of the Society of
Jesus had taken no part in the English Mission; and when,
as one of the obvious results of the Jesuit rule over the
English College, there came the exodus of Father William Holt
and three other students to join the Society, and their con-
equent loss to the English Mission, people began to shake
their heads and speak of the Jesuits as " putting their sickles
into other men's harvest, and making use of their position in
the College to entice their pupils into their own Order."
Father Parsons was anxious to be able to meet these
insinuations. He had himself long urged the authorities
of the Society to send labourers into the harvest in England,
and he thought Dr. Allen could very probably influence
the Father-General in this matter. "Perhaps," he writes,
" you may induce him to joine some of his also (seeing God
has sent so many into the Society) with our other priests to
go into England seeing otherwise you and others have written
that it is much desired by Catholics there." Then after
saying that he had offered himself for the missions in India,
1 Tierney. Dodd. ii. Ap. ccc1xx.
G
82
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
but would gladly go to England instead, he adds: tt But
whether I go or not, I think the combination of our fathers
of the Society with our priests of the seminaries is so impor-
tant a thing and of so great consequence as if your coming
brought no other thing to pass but this, you would have
well bestowed your time." 1
Allen was a sincere friend and admirer of the Jesuits,
but he saw the danger to the English College if they were
to be allowed to receive students into their ranks and thus
take them from the work of the mission for which they had
come to prepare. He consequently seized on the suggestion
of Father Parsons to try and secure from the Society helpers in
the dangerous field of the English Mission. His visit to Rome
gave him the opportunity of discussing the matter with
Father Mercurianus, the General. Apparently he did not at
first carry his point, for some of the heads of the Order were
certainly against the project and argued that caution was
necessary, for the risks of life to the missioner in England
were undoubtedly greater than in India. Some of the con-
sultors also thought, that the Jesuit fathers would be im-
mediately suspected of political objects and intrigues, whilst
others foretold disputes between them and the secular priests
in the country, which could be settled only with great
difficulty, since there were no bishops in England. However,
in the end, it is said to have been Father Aquaviva, subse-
quently General of the Order, who determined Father Mer-
curianus to accept Allen's proposal. Aquaviva is even said
to have offered himself as one of the missioners to England.
So Allen carried his point. On December 5, 1579, he
wrote from the English College at Rome to Father Edn1und
Campion, the Jesuit, then at Prague, telling him how he
rejoiced in the decision and how he hoped that Campion
himself would be one of the first to be chosen for the English
Mission. H The Reverend Father General," he writes, II has
given in to the prayers of many; the Pontiff, a true father to
our country, has approved the project, so God cannot but
bless it." 2
It was Allen's hope that, thus linked together by a
1 Letters and II/ems. oj Cardinal Allen, pp. 74-5.
2 Ib., p. 85. See Simpson's Campion, pp. 97-9.
A PERIOD OF UNREST
83
common bond of sacrifice, of danger and of martyrdom, the
Jesuits and the secular clergy might form a solid and united
body, and that this might serve to consolidate the spirit of
union between the students and their Jesuit superiors in the
English College in Rome. \Vith this hope Dr. Allen left
Rome to return to his work at Rheims.
Meanwhile the College was constantly growing in numbers,
and it quickly took a position as one of the first in Rome
for the excellency of its studies. During Dr. Allen's visit,
in October 1579, the first public thesis was defended by a
young college student. The defension embraced the whole
of Philosophy, and a very young and brilliant scholar named
Gilbert Gifford, who afterwards, alas! turned out badly and
was expelled, was the defensor and acquitted himself with
great credit in the presence of many prelates and distin-
guished men. This first defension was followed in December
by a second in which Father Mush distinguished himself
equally well.
At first it seemed as if Dr. Allen's hopes for a union of
hearts between the Jesuit missionaries and their secular
brethren would be realised. In the April of IS80, Father
Parsons and Father Edmund Can1pion, II the first of the
Society of Jesus, whom at the persuasion of the most Rev.
W. Allen, His Holiness sent into England," left Rome in
company with five priests from the English College. These
five were Edmund Rishton, Ralph Sherwin (afterwards a
martyr), Luke Kirby (likewise a martyr), John Pascal and
Thomas Bruce. Before leaving Rome, these heroic priests
II had doubtless originated the custom of the English mission-
aries going to St. Philip Neri, ere they set out for the scene
of their passion, that the full zeal and love pent up in that
burning breast might find a vent and flow over, from him who
was kept at home, upon those who were to face the foe.
Therefore," says Cardinal Newman, II one by one, each in
his turn, those youthful soldiers came to the old man, and one
by one they persevered and gained the crown and the palm
-all but one, who had not gone and would not go for the
salutary blessing." 1
1 Simpson's Edmund CamPion, new ed., 1896, p. 156. Mr. Simpson
suggests that the one who failed was John Pascal.
84
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
" They had left one Saint at Rome," writes Mr. Simpson,
Ie they were to find another at Milan. St. Charles Borromeo
received our pilgrims into his house and kept them there for
eight days. He made Sherwin preach before him, and he
made Campion discourse every day after dinner." "He
had," says Parsons, "sundry learned and most goodly
speeches with us, tending to the contempt of this world and
perfect zeal of Christ's service, whereof we saw so rare an
exam pIe in himself and his austere and laborious life; being
nothing in effect but skin and bone, through continual pains,
fasting and penance; so that without saying a word, he
preached to us sufficiently, and we departed from him greatly
edified and exceedingly animated. St. Charles always,
indeed, showed a partiality for the English exiles. Dr.
Owen Lewis, the Bishop of Cassano, had been his Vicar-
General, and William Gifford, afterwards Archbishop of
Rheims, his chaplain. After our pilgrims' visit he wrote
to Father Agazzari, the Rector: "I saw and willingly re-
ceived those English who departed home the other day,
as their goodness deserved and the cause for which they had
undertaken that voyage. If, in future, Your Reverence shall
send any others to me, be assured that I will take care to
receive them with all charity and that it will be most pleasing
to me to have occasion to perform the duties of hospitality,
so proper for a Bishop, towards the Catholics of that nation.
Milan, the last of June, IS80." 1 The Saint wrote to the
same effect on March IS of the following year. 2
In the early years of the foundation the records constantly
refer with gratitude to the generosity and fatherly care of
Pope Gregory XIII, whom all loved to call the founder of
the College. He was ever ready to give money both for the
support of the students and for their journeys when return-
ing to England. On one occasion, indeed, Dr. Allen begged
him not to give so plentifully to some departing priests. He
always received those who had finished their course in Rome
before they left, bestowed on them his blessing and spoke
1 Simpson's Edmund CamPion, new ed., 1896, p. 157. Simpson says
the original of this letter is at Stonyhurst-sce it printed in Douay Diaries,
i. Ap. 339.
2 DoZtay Diaries, Ap. 340. The original is in the College Archives.
A PERIOD OF UNREST
85
encouragingly to them of their great work for souls in England,
and gave them special faculties. In 1580, he enriched the
church of the College by the gift of a piece of the foreann of
its patron St. Thomas of Canterbury, which had hitherto
been among the relics in the treasury at St. Mary l\Iajor.
In November of the same year 1580, he granted a per-
petual Plenary Indulgence to all who should visit the church
of the College on St. Thomas's Day and Trinity Sunday. The
Apostolic Brief for this is still to be found in the College
Archives. Besides the annual payments made for the sup-
port of the students from the Pontifical treasury, in 158r
the Holy Father gave a sum of 2000 crowns to help out a
deficit, and about the same time he gave to the College the
Abbey of S. Saviano and the Priory of St. Victoria near
Piacenza as a perpetual endowment for the establishment.
The College continued to possess the revenues till 1795, and
the mass of papers relating to the property in the Archives
shows the business transacted during that period.
In his fatherly care, Pope Gregory XIII was ever anxious
for the health of his students, and so in 1580, after failing to
find a convenient country house where the students H with
whom the Roman climate does not agree, might recreate
themselves," he <I set apart one of his own for the unre-
stricted use of the students, who have free entrance both to
the grounds and buildings." 1 Later on, in July 1583, the
Holy Father sanctioned the purchase of a vineyard outside
the Porta del Popolo for the recreation of the students of
the College. It cost 3000 crowns and was paid for out of the
papal treasury. The season that year in Rome had been
specially unhealthy and some deaths had occurred among the
students, so the Holy Father hoped by this most acceptable
gift to afford fresh air and much -needed exercise to the
English exiles.
This same year, 1583, the Pope granted special Indul-
gences to the Sodality of the Blessed Virgin, which was at
this time established among the students. He granted a
Plenary Indulgence on the date of entrance and the same
when a member left for England or elsewhere, and an In-
dulgence of a hundred days every time the Sodalists met
1 Ann
al Letters, Foley, Records, vi, p. 97.
86
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
for spiritual exercises, according to the custom of the
Sodality.
On April IO, I585, this generous founder and benefactor
died, and the establishment was soon to learn what a loss
it had sustained. The entry in the Ann1,f,al Letters says:
II Besides the usual suffrages for his blessed soul our students
will keep his anniversary with all due solemnity, that God,
in consideration of his many benefits to us, may reward him
with life everlasting. Amen." 1
The College by this time had secured other benefactors in
a small way. To the library of the College, for example,
in the first decade several friends left their books. For
example, in I578, Alan Cope, the well-known writer, died in
Rome, and was buried in the church of the English College.
He had been a Fellow of Magdalen College and a Doctor of
Laws of the University of Oxford, but in I560, when he saw
that the Catholic religion would be proscribed in England,
he withdrew to the Continent, and coming to Rome, took his
degree in Canon Law and Divinity in the Roman schools.
The Pope made him a canon of St. Peter's, and on his death he
left his library to the English College,2 in the church of which
Masses were said for him on his anniversary till I739, when,
as there was no fund existing to provide the stipends, the
obligation was taken off, except in regard to one
Iass on the
6th of Septenlber, the day of his death. 3 Some of the volumes
on the shelves still exhibit his signature. Cardinal Allen, too,
left his books to the library on his death in I583, and in I5 8 5,
Bishop Goldwell, so long connected with the old Hospice,
bestowed in his will many things of value as well as his books
on the College. His epitaph which was in the old church
is now in the cloister. In I583, Pope Gregory XIII set aside
a sum of sixty scudi annually for paying the journeys of
missionaries of the English College on their return to England;
and to mention only one other papal benefaction in this
century, Gregory XIV, in I59I, made a perpetual charge on
the Dataria of IOO scudi a month for the further support of
the College, which sum was regularly paid till the time of
the French Revolution.
1 Foley, Records, vi. p. 112. :II Chron., June 16, 1579.
3 Lib. 362 in principio.
A PERIOD OF UNREST
87
As noted above, in the year 1585 death removed the
venerable Bishop Goldwell, the last of the old Catholic
Bishops. He had been connected for such a long time with
the English Hospice both as Warden and as living there as a
guest, that it had been one of the griefs of Dr. Clenock, when
the place was converted into the College, to have to turn
this venerated man out of his old rooms. "I answered,"
says Dr. Clenock, "that I couldn't and wouldn't either
permit or take part in this act against the most Reverend
Bishop and venerable old man, who had been wont to confer
Orders and administer other sacred rites constantly in our
church." 1 The Bishop, however, made no difficulty, and
retired to the house of the Theatines, to which Order he
belonged. That he had every good wish for the newly
established English College is shown by the fact that he
left most of his worldly goods to it.
Cardinal :Morone, the first Cardinal Protector of the
College, died in 1581, and Pope Gregory XIII appointed
his nephew, Cardinal Boncompagni, to succeed him. He is
known in the records as the Cardinal of S. Sisto, and he
manifested his interest in the establishment in numberless
ways. He obtained from Pope Gregory as one of the last
favours he granted to his foundation, that the English
students << and others dwelling in this college, might in Lent
gain all the Indulgences of the Churches of the Stations, by
visiting the altars of the College Chapel and saying one Pater
and Ave at each."
The period from the death of Pope Gregory XIII to the
end of the century was again not a time of peace in
the English College. Further disputes between the students
and their superiors have unfortunately to be recorded-dis-
putes which were of a serious character and which unjustly
gained for the young English in Rome the reputation of being
a turbulent and quarrelsome body. These dissensions are
of course to be regretted, but it is impossible to pass them
over without a brief mention in any true account of the
English College. It is of interest, however, to note that
since similar disturbances did not take place in other English
Colleges of a like nature elsewhere, it is fairly evident that
1 Tierney's Dodd. ii. Ap. ccclxxii.
88
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
the causes must be sought for in something else than in the
particular national spirit of the English youths who came to
study in Rome. There is, however, no need, now-a-days, to
apportion the blame for the outbreak, nor to determine the
causes which led up to it.
Notwithstanding the paternal interest of the Cardinal
Protector and the correct attitude of the Jesuit Rector,
Father Agazzari, a serious revolt of the students against their
superiors broke out in 1585" Historians of the Society
express themselves as certain that the origin of the trouble
must be sought in the secret machinations of some emissaries
of the English queen, Elizabeth, whose interest it was to
wreck the seminary. The names of some suspected agents
of Cecil and Walsingham are known. Such were Solomon
Aldred, Thomas Morgan, Gilbert Gifford and Edward
Gratley, and they certainly had intercourse with some of the
discontented students. Such men may have had something
to say in the matter; but we possess more sure evidence as
to the grievances or the supposed grievances of the students.
Matters reached such a point in 1585, that Pope Sixtus V
had to appoint a special commission to cnquire fully into the
causes of these U stirs" among the students, as they were
then called. This was composed of two Bishops, one of whom
was the Bishop of Piacenza, afterwards Cardinal Sega. The
Visitation is thus recorded in the Annual Letter: U In
August, by order of His Holiness Sixtus V, a Visitation of
this College was held by the most Revd. the Bishops of
Piacenza and Castra, with their respective coadjutors. . . .
They began with the Chapel, the sacristy and the relics, and
examined whatever appertained to the Divine Service. They
next went through the rooms, the offices and furniture.
They then passed to the consideration of the rules and usages
of the College. In auditing the accounts they were assisted
by an accountant. They questioned every student on
matters concerning the state of the house. In their report
to His Holiness they bore witness to the satisfactory state
of the College, to the general contentment and progress of
all the students, with but few exceptions. God be praised." 1
This is, of course, an ex parte statement as to tbe Visita,-
1 foley, Records, vi. p. Iq.
A PERIOD OF UNREST
89
tion made by the Rector; but it certainly does not give an
adequate account of the real state of affairs. The Acts of
the Visit disclose that there was serious discontent. The chief
complaints of the students were that the discipline was alto-
gether too petty and worrying: it was adapted, so at least
they thought, rather for young children than for youths
growing into manhood. Further, they complained that the
Rector showed himself too partial to those students who
showed any inclination to join the Jesuits, and that he made
use of his favourites to spy upon the rest. Also, in their
view, the general system of government, however good in
itself and for Jesuits, was not suited for the education of
secular priests, for which the College had been founded.
Their request to the Visitors was that they might have as
Rector a secular priest and an Englishman, who would be
able to understand the character, customs and feeling of
the English. In this, they were strongly supported by
Cardinal Sandori, then the Cardinal Protector of Scotland.
At this juncture the Pope, Sixtus V, apparently sum-
moned Dr. Allen to Rome, and he was also pressed by several
of his Jesuit friends to come forthwith and give his advice
as to the situation at the English College. 1 So, although
very unwell, Allen determined to attempt the journey, and
reaching Rome on November 4, took up his abode at once
in the English College. He was destined to remain in the
Eternal City for the rest of his life, taking part in the re-
vision of the Sacred Scriptures and becoming one of the
chief counsellors of the Holy See in the government of the
Church.
On studying the affairs of the English College and in
view of the discontent manifested at the time of the Visita-
tion, Dr. Allen advised the Pope <l that an English Rector
should be given to the Englishmen." This was sound
advice and was immediately acted upon, and provisionally
Father William Holt, a former student of the College, who
had joined the Society, was appointed Rector in place of
Father Agazzari. After six months he was succeeded by
the celebrated Father Parsons, and he again in 1589 by
Father Creswell, who ruled the College till 1593. With
1 Letters and ..Hems. o} Cardinal
lllen, lutrotl
IxxxHj.
9 0
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN R011fE
this change from an Italian Jesuit superior to an English
Jesuit it was hoped that the difficulties at the College would
have been surmounted, especially as eight of the dissatisfied
students were expelled as a result of the Visitation.
From the Acts of this Visitation some interesting par-
ticulars about the College at this time may be gleaned. Up
to IS8S, some thirty-two priests had left the Institution for
the English Mission, and six students had gone from Rome
to finish their ecclesiastical studies at Douay. Six priests
had joined the Jesuits from among the students, and eight
had died. In this year IS8S, the number of the students
actually in the College was sixty and the revenue was 4674
scudi. The concluding words of the Acts say of the students
generally, " putting on one side their spirit of independence,
we have heard nothing grave against them, but have seen
evidence of their modesty, continence and great piety."
Disgusted by the divisions in the College, Pope Sixtus V
withdrew the annual subsidy of 3000 scudi, which his pre-
decessor had given from the papal treasury for its support.
This forced the authorities to diminish the number of
students, and the Jesuit fathers attached in various capacities
to the establishment. There had been eleven fathers,
seventy students and a number of attendants. To effect
this change, Fr. Holt was obliged to refuse many applicants,
so that in IS86 the Jesuits were reduced to six and the
students to sixty.
At this period it would appear that the General of the
Society, who had never been in favour of his subjects
undertaking the direction of the English College, desired
to withdraw from it; but Fr. Parsons, who had now suc-
ceeded Fr. Holt as Rector, opposed this most strenuously
and carried the day. It might, however, have been well
and it would have prevented further difficulties, had the
Father-General persisted in his wish to retire from the
management of the College. As a fact, there never appears
to have been a real period of freedom from unrest, and fresh
and even more serious difficulties arose in IS94, and the
" stirs" continued more or less acutely for years.
In IS93, Fr. Alphonsus Agazzari, the old Rector, who
had since his resignation been holding office at the Gesù,
CARDIXAL ALLEN
[To lace p. 91.
A PERIOD OF UNREST
91
once more assumed the government of the establishment
at the wish of Pope Clement VIII and of Cardinal Toleto,
who in the absence of the Protector Cardinal Gaetani, then
on a mission to Poland, was acting as Vice-Protector. 1 This
was generally interpreted as a return to the system of Italian
Rectors, which had been given up at the advice of Dr. Allen.
Naturally the English students did not approve of the change
and agitations began once again, in spite of the exhortation,
made by Father Agazzari on taking up office for the second
time, U to subordination and regular observance." After a
very brief period Father Agazzari retired again and gave
place first to Father Vitelleschi, subsequently General of the
Society, and then in :May 1594, to Father Fioravanti, who
would appear to have been a most incapable ruler of men.
Even Dr. Barrat, the then Rector of Douay, who was a great
believer in the Jesuit training of youth, thought this, and
wrote it plainly to Father Parsons. U The rector (Fioravanti)
will never be able to rule this place," he says in a letter,
dated April 10, 1596, from Rome. U Many things I can tell
you of, that must be amended concerning the College in
the manner of government, and concerning better corre-
spondence with the College of Douay, otherwise you will
never have peace. Trust those that be your true friends." 2
Cardinal Allen died at the College 3 on October 16, 1594,
1 A nnual Letters, Foley, Records, vi. p. 118.
2 Tierney, Dodd, iii. p. 74.
3 Cardinal Allen's faithful Secretary and Majordomo at the time of
his death was Roger Baines or Baynes, who, dying in 1623, was buried
in the English College Church. His monument is still preserved, and his
epitaph styles him" nobilis Anglus," and states that" Ex testamento
centum montium loca in pios usus reliquit, prout ex actis d. Michaelis
Angeli Casi notarii constat." Like his patron the Cardinal, with whom
he lived within the precincts of the College, he was much attached to the
Institution. He was born in 1546, and in the reign of Queen Elizabeth
abjured the Protestant religion and joined Dr. Allen at Rheims. He
came with him to Rome, and when his master and friend became Cardinal
joined his household and assisted him at his death. After this he con-
tinued to live in a house belonging to the College, No. 28, and by his will
left a burse for the support of a student. Roger Baines, amongst his
other pious donations, left certain specific objects to the Venerabile. One of
these is of peculiar interest, although unfortunately it is no longer among
the treasures of the English College. It was a bronze plaque of Aristotle
which had an interesting history, to which attention has been caned by
9 2
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
having lived long enough to see the Italian Jesuits once more
presiding over the English national College. He must also
have seen, living as he did in the College itself, and having
constant relations with the inmates, signs of growing dis-
content, which seemed to imperil the usefulness of the
College which he had done so much to found. In 1596,
Father Agazzari again became Rector for the third time,
apparently as the result of another Visitation of the College
ordered by the Pope.
The Report of this thorough examination made by
Cardinal Sega, who eleven years before whilst Bishop of
Piacenza had been one of the Visitors, is a very lengthy but
Dr. Ashby, the Director of the British School in Rome, who furnishes the
following note.
II On the back of a drawing of S. Croce in Gerusalemme, by John
Alexander, made in 171.'), and now in the British Museum (Forty Drawings
of Roman Scenes by British Artists, pI. I), is tèe folluwing note. II Hanc
Aristotelis lconem Henricus Angliæ Rex dum Religionem litterasque
coleret summo tamquam ab ipso Philosopho jam spirante ductam, habuit
in pretio: litterarum vero pietatisque studio in Anglia collabente earn
Card. Polus, unicum temporis sui lumen feritatem regis declinans, Romam
detulit: quæ post aliquot annorum intervallum feliCÌ casu ad Cardinalem
Alanum, ingens etiam gentis Anglicanæ ornamentum, pervenit, a quo
dum fato concederet Rogerus Bainesius qui illi turn ab epistolis erat dono
eam accepit e vivis exiens collegii Anglicani de Prbe Bibliothecæ egregium
amoris sui reliquit vi Id, Octob, Anno MDCXXIII, MV7}p.oC1'VJlov."
Dr. Ashby adds: "Compare Hülsen in Rõmische Mitteilungen xvii
(1901), 178, No. 28. Tabella ænea exhibeno caput anaglyphum viri
barbati (em. fere 23 X 30) Mutinæ in numophylacio ostendens.
APICTOTEAH
OAPICTO
.
TnN 4>IAo
o<ÞnN.
Descripsi.
Aut idem exemplum est aut alterum simile quod perhibetur oIim ab
Henrico VIII, Angliæ rege datum Reginaldo Polo Cardinali, deinde per-
venerat ad Cardinalem Alanum, denique a Rogero Bainesio a (?) 162 3
donatum Collegio Anglorum in Urbe ubi, servabatur sæc. xviii exeunte:
API
TOTEAH
.
OAPIcTO
TnN.
<ÞIAOCo<ÞnN.
D' Agincourt Vat. 9846, f. 9 8 ,
Hülsen wrote me (Dr. Ashby), 7. V. 1911, that he had seen a similar
Renaissance plaque in the Museo Correr at Venice, with the inscription
thus-
APICTOTEAH
APICTO
TnN.
<ÞHAoco<ÞnN.
So," concludes Dr. Ashþy, It it cannot be identical with that whiçh was
once in the English College."
..
.\.
,
1) r '" t: ,-
\.. J. L...
l
l. '\' -.- }
,-I
, '- q ,........
--
ARISTOTLE
From a photograph ot a Bron7c Plaque, oncc the property of thc English Coll('ge
(R:JI þ:'rm;.ç,çir11l of Ihc Faclllt)' nf Archrrologv, Hi,'nrv '111./ LrltlT<, of Ih,. Rrilish Schon[ al Rome)
A PERIOD OF UNREST
93
extremely interesting document. 1 At this time the number
of students was forty-seven, and Cardinal Sega begins his
memorial by setting forth the names of thirty-seven of these
II who have taken part in the disturbances " and of the ten
II who have remained faithfu1." He commences his account
with the remark that as such disturbances as these, which
have taken place in Ronle, have never occurred in other
seminaries directed by the Jesuit fathers, they II cannot be
accounted for by any defect in its government by the
fathers or by the native peculiarities of the English char-
acter." In his opinion the cause is to be sought in the
influence of certain men, II who have only looked to their
own interests"; <C whose desire was to make money and
thus amass riches, and to gratify ambition." II Gladly," he
adds, <C would I pass over in silence the names of these
unhappy men, but I am compelled under present circum-
stances to mention one, whose memory I would fain spare,
seeing he has departed this life, viz. the late Bishop of
Cassano," Dr. Owen Lewis.
It must be confessed that, in view of the documents that
exist, Cardinal Sega's account of the beginnings of the College
is, to say the least, inaccurate and quite unfair to Dr. Owen
Lewis, who was not then alive to speak for himself. In
view of this, it may be well to say something about one who,
as already pointed out, may be regarded as jointly with
Cardinal Allen the founder of the English College. The
mere fact that St. Charles Borromeo had made Lewis one
of the Vicars-General of :Milan, that he had him to live in
his own house, and that the Saint died in his arms, may be
sufficient to refute the idea that Lewis was a mere worldly
self-seeker. He was promoted by Pope Sixtus V to the
bishopric of Cassano in the Kingdom of Naples in 1588,
but continued to reside in Rome and to be employed in
various offices of trust by the Pope. From their early days
at Oxford he and Cardinal Allen were linked together in a
lasting friendship. The story that he and Allen were rival
candidates for the Cardinalate, or that he was the secret
foe of the Jesuits and was, as suggested by Cardinal Sega, the
fomenter of the rebellion of the English students in the
1 A translation is printed in Foley, Records, vi. pp. 1-66.
94
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
College, seems to have no better foundation than the mali-
cious gossip of enemies. That he should be a friend of the
students was but natural, since after Cardinal Allen's death
he was the chief English ecclesiastic in Rome. It was but
natural, also, that the English students should, on the
Cardinal's death, have desired that the special facuIties for
England possessed by Allen should pass to Dr. Lewis, the
representative Englishman. Their petition to this effect
appears to have been the chief ground of the accusations
against the good name of Owen Lewis. We may add that at
his request he was buried in the chapel of the English
College, and a Latin epitaph was set up to his memory.
This was only right since he was a great benefactor to
the College and left by his will 1000 scudi, which the Rector
received in 1597 and found most useful in paying off a loan
from the :Monte di Pietà. "And," runs the record, "as
the said Bishop had bequeathed these thousand scudi on a
condition mentioned in a letter to the :Most Illustrious
Cardinal Cusani (his executor), the said Cardinal fixed on
the College the charge of celebrating one Mass daily for the
soul of the departed Bishop, and an anniversary service on
the recurrence of the date of his decease." 1
To return to Cardinal Sega's report: the main interest
of the document is the staten1ent of the grievances of the
students against the College authorities. No doubt there
were in their midst some who in their after life proved
themselves wholly unworthy Catholics. Some no doubt
were unruly and disobedient subjects, but it is wholly
incredible that three-fourths of their number can have
been involved in the "stirs" without some cause.
The Cardinal says: " Among the students at that time
were some who, because they had taken the degree of
Master of Arts in the English Universities, claimed pre-
cedence over their fellow-students, and objected to be
governed, as they were wont to say, like children." They
also "imperiously required that the Rector should at
least have an English colleague." Whilst Cardinal Allen
lived, his presence and authority were sufficient to stifle
the ever-smouldering embers of discontent and prevent
1 Foley, Records, vi. 119.
A PERIOD OF UNREST
95
outside evil influences from having effect. "No sooner,
however, had this bright star, whose effulgence had so long
guided the perilous course of English affairs, disappeared
from the firmament 1 than new and far more violent storms
threatened the College with shipwreck. It was the preva-
lent belief (?) that the hand of the Bishop of Cassano was
the motive power of this juvenile mutiny. He seems
throughout the whole course of these events to have had
aims far higher than those which met the public gaze.
Certain it is that his partisans in the College, whether of
their own accord or by the influence of others, took counsel
for the purpose of raising that prelate to the position which
the late Cardinal had occupied."
From the accusations of mismanagement made by the
students, the Jesuits defended themselves with spirit and
skill; and it must be confessed that many of these accusa-
tions appear to be exaggerated and petty. Evidently
after a patient hearing, Cardinal Sega was wholly on the
side of the Superiors, and practically dismissing the charges
against them, sums up the demands of the forty-seven
English students under two heads. First they ask that
the administration of the College shall be taken out of the
hands of the Jesuits, and secondly they beg for secular
priests as superiors, or else Fathers of the Oratory under
Baronius. As to the first, the Cardinal Visitor remarks
that the Jesuits themselves have made the same request
to the Pope and would be but too willing to get rid of the
burden. And in regard to the general demands he says:
H It must not be lost sight of that, as the whole tenor of
their demands clearly proves, they-the English students
-are endeavouring to establish a sort of democracy. They
fancy they are living on their own estates and not on the
alms of the Apostolic See. Nearly all their demands are
most prej udicial to the good government of the College."
Before coming to the conclusion of this somewhat com-
plicated incident in the history of the English College it
may be permitted to point out briefly what was really the
foundation of the difficulties at this time. I t was in the
main political. The account given by Tierney,2 certainly
1 Carùinal Allen dicù Oct. 1594. Z Tierney, Dodd. iii. p. 38 n.
9 6
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
no partisan of the Jesuits, seems after a consideration of
the available documents to be just and correct. It is
necessary to quote his judgment at some length. H Dodd,"
he writes, H seems to refer all the disputes and dissensions,
which distinguish the early history of the English College
at Rome, to the embittered feeling resulting from the
transfer of that establishment to the hands of a Jesuit
rector. I am inclined to think this is a mistake. That the
recollection of the past may have tended to increase the
subsequent irritation of the disaffected is not unlikely:
but that the irritation itself derived its origin from other
causes, that other sources of alienation had been opened,
and other instruments of discord had been brought into
action is scarcely susceptible of a doubt. . . . Two parties
divided the Catholics on the subject of the succession to the
crown. On the one side were ranged the Jesuits with
Parsons and others at their head: on the other was a
considerable number of the secular clergy, with what the
event will justify us in regarding as the great body of the
Catholic population of England. Religion we may fairly
believe to have been the object of both. But the means
were political: political feelings produced political violence;
opposition was met with opposition, aggression with equal
aggression, and a sentiment of mutual jealousy and distrust
was generated, which still continued to operate, when its
causes had long been forgotten. At this period, to which
the present history relates, this sentiment was in all its
activity, both in England and abroad. Of course the
College at Rome was not exempted from its influence."
This is not the place to enter fully into the history of
these differences. All that it is here necessary to say is,
that just when various causes of discontent existed among
the students, and the incompetent government of the
superiors had led to relaxed discipline and disorganisation,
the publication of a book by Father Parsons led to the
outbreak into which Cardinal Sega was sent to enquire.
Cardinal Allen was already dying when Father Parsons
issued his volume entitled a Conference about the :AT ext
Succession. In the second part of this book the author
tried to show that the appropriate successor for Queen
A PERIOD OF UNREST
f.j]
Elizabeth was the Infanta of Spain, as a descendant of
John of Gaunt. The book made a tremendous sensation,
and the English parliament made it high treason for any
one to possess a copy of it. Here we are only concerned
with its effect in the English College. Father Agazzari
wrote to Parsons that the English students are determined
to oppose themselves to the design of the Spanish King.
(( They speak," he says, (( often and despitefully against
the Book of Succession and against its author-Parsons as
they suppose-whose name they cannot endure. They
delight in the failure of the Spaniards as lately at Cadiz;
and they grieve over their successes as at Calais." 1 Dr.
Barret, the Rector of Douay, wrote in much the same
strain in April 1596. (( I find their heads full of false
bruits and differences betwixt Jesuits and priests in Eng-
land. Yea, the selfsame faction that is at Brussels, be
here against the Spaniards and such as take that way."
Unfortunately the obnoxious book was introduced into the
College, and it is said that it was proposed to have it in
the refectory in place of the usual reading, but the lector,
a young divine named Jasper Lobb, flatly refused. This
student, Jasper Lobb, was among the number of those sent
away from Rome to Douay in 1597, by order of the Cardinal
Protector. He was ordained in the latter place two years
later. 2
But to return to Cardinal Sega's Visitation. He gives
it as his opinion that on no account should the Jesuits be
withdrawn from the English Mission, as some were sug-
gesting, and that they should be maintained in their
government of the English College. In this view he was
strongly upheld by Dr. Barret of Douay. Writing from
Rome to his friend Father Parsons on April 10, 1596, he
says, that he finds (( the causes of these shameful flames
were in prÙrâs: (that) the scholars were permitted to deal
in public affairs, for a Cardinal, for facuIties, etc. Wherein
being persuaded that the Society was of a contrary mind,
they conceived an indignation and aversion, as though the
fathers were enemies to them in their cause and their
1 Tierney, iii. Ap, lxxv. Written in August 1596.
! Foley, Records, vi. p. 508.
II
98
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
country. . . . During these troublesome broils, where
neither study of learning nor exercise of virtue keepeth
them occupied, no marvel if some young men would will-
ingly look back to the world and take any occasion to be
gone with the rest."
Dr. Barret also says that he had exposed all his views
to the Pope and had < < lamented their madness, who would
try and sow dissensions between the J esui ts and the seculars,"
and, as for allowing the fathers of the Society to resign the
administration of the College, he told His Holiness that the
<<whole College of Douay, the Colleges of Spain and at
St. Omer, the priests of England and generally all our nation
Catholic" were opposed to such a change, except some few
<< by whose ill counsel these youths were deceived." 1
The matter, however, was not settled so quickly. Car-
dinal Toleto, whom the Pope trusted and had sent to
arbitrate, since in the absence of Cardinal Gaetani he had
been named Vice-Protector, was inclined to sympathise
with the students. As one of the accounts hostile to the
Jesuits has it, he H knew the Society well, being one of
them." The Cardinal, however, did not live to see the
conclusion of the affair, as he died in September of this
year, 1596. This delay kept Dr. Barret in Rome, and on
the 26th of September he again wrote to Parsons that he
could not leave till matters were settled. The delay, he
says, has caused <<these busy-headed fellows" to conceive
some hope of removing the fathers from the College.
<<Besides, Father-General [AquavivaJ made suit to His
Holiness to have the Society delivered of this government."
As both parties desired the same thing, Dr. Barret
feared that the removal of the fathers from the College
might be carried out. This, according to his way of thinking,
would have been the ruin of the College, and he implored
the Holy Father not to consent to the retirement of the
Jesuits, and << thus sacrifice the true interest of the English
College to the small knot of turbulent youths, who set
themselves up against the Society and against the other
Colleges." At the end of his audience, the Rector of Douay
assured the Pope that in this opinion U he had expressed
1 Tierney, iii. Ap. p. lxxiii.
A PERIOD OF UNREST
99
the general feeling of the entire Church of England, as well
as his own." 1
Nearly a year before-on December 8, 1595-Dr. Barret
had written to the General of the Jesuits in the name of all
the professors of Douay on the subject of these miserable
disputes. Cardinal Sega quotes from this letter in his
Report. The professors of Douay through their Rector
claim to speak the mind of the English generally when they
deplore the intention of the Father-General to surrender
the care of the Roman College. They close a stirring appeal
to him not to do so with the following words: It Call to
mind that the other seminaries, whether in Spain or here
in Belgium, are committed to your piety and fidelity.
Consider our own (i. e. Douay) which cannot long subsist
without your patronage and concurrence. Wherefore,
then, most kind Father, will you forsake us, to whom will
you abandon us in our helplessness? Who else but you
labours with us in the English Mission? If you resign the
task of training our young men, where are we to look hence-
forth for workers? To whom can we send our students,
who for God's sake have given up kindred, country and all
that makes life worth living? What bitter grief has been
awakened in the breasts of the good in England at hearing
of this. On the other hand, how the heretics triumph
thereat." 2
Cardinal Sega finally recommended, as the conclusion of
his enquiry, a diminution of the number of students. This
he thought necessary in view of the inadequate means of
the College; and he added that Dr. Barret, the head of
the Douay College, was said to be willing to take those who
may have to leave under this arrangement. Those who
had to leave, he suggested, should be mainly those who
have declared that they cannot live in peace under the
Jesuit rule, which he desires to be continued. In the course
of his report he notes that, from the time of its first institu-
tion in 1578 till July last (1595), three hundred and three
students had been admitted into the establishment. Of
these, thirty-one had joined the Society, and forty-seven
were still in the house. Of the remaining two hundred
1 Foley, Records, vi. Introd. xv. 2 lb., vi. p. 53.
100 THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
and twenty-five only ninety-five-Iess than half the number
-had been sent to England, and out of the thirty who
joined the Jesuits twenty-five had been sent to labour on
the English Mission.
The conclusion of this lengthy Report deals with many
points of interest in regard to the College life and temporal
administration. It may usefully find a place in any history
of the establishment. The Cardinal says: "The yearly
income of the College consists (r) of the revenues of the
monastery of St. Saviano at Piacenza, and of the Priory
united thereto, 3300 scudi; (2) of the rents of certain
moneys and loan offices belonging to it in Rome; (3) finally
of certain donations to the amount of 2905 scudi; in all
6205 scudi."
The annual charges on the College, whether for the
interest and pensions which it had to pay, and for the
expenses of letting or repairing its vineyards, amount to
308 scudi. The monastery above mentioned has upon it
a yearly charge of rooo scudi for repairs of the dykes of
the Po, as we are told, and for other usual expenses, which
reduces the income of the College to 4900 scudi a year.
It must be borne in mind, notes the Report, that the
accounts of the monastery are not kept in Rome, nor are
they closely balanced, so that it is probable that the College
was somewhat the loser by this negligent way of keeping
accounts, as it is not unlikely that a third of the revenues of
that monastery were swallowed up in current expenses.
{( I hear from the Fathers," continues the Cardinal, {( that
the College has on it a debt of 86,425.60 sC., part of which
consists of interest on moneys borrowed, part in debts con-
tracted by the yearly needs of the College. The accounts
are very confused, nor is the present book-keeper one whom
I should select for that charge. There are no inventories
or accounts of stores kept in the various offices, especially
in the store-room or the clothes-room; everything seems to
be left to the discretion of those in charge."
The College hired a baker to bake bread, with three
servants under him, and during the late dearth it may
perhaps have saved son1ewhat thereby. But now that
plenty is restored, it is unquestionable that the College
A PERIOD OF UNREST
101
loses by this arrangement. An examination of the accounts
of the last year proved that 300 scudi might have been
saved by getting the supplies from a baker outside. Then,
too, the custom prevailed in the College of drinking only
Neapolitan, or, as it was called, di Ripa wine. It would,
however, so thought the Visitor, be a saving if, during four
or five months of the year, the students would make use of
the produce of the Roman vineyards.
The beasts purchased for the supply of the College were
usually bought at the Campo Vaccino. This might perhaps
have been done without any loss to the College if the matter
had been looked after by men up to their business. cc The
last year's accounts," he says, cc show that they might have
supplied themselves more cheaply at the butcher's." Another
reason of this large expenditure on meat may be that, as
there is no stint of meat in the house, larger portions are
given than is usual elsewhere. cc The quantity of cheese
consumed," he adds, cc seems to me to exceed what the
numbers require."
One source of heavy year! y expense to the College was
that on the days of recreation at the Vigna (once a week in
spring and twice in summer) dinners were given of many
courses and to many guests, for the fathers or the students
often invite externs. The two annual festivals of the
College are the most Holy Trinity and St. Thomas of Canter-
bury, on which days musicians are hired at a cost of over
100 scudi; grand dinners were provided for them, and for
more than 200 other guests, so that on these days the
College spent more than 300 scudi.
The clothes-room was a heavy item in the accounts;
yet the students grumbled, though they were allowed to
come and get what they liked, there being no fixed quantity
allotted to each.
Another heavy and useless outlay was feeding and
treating lackeys (þalajrenari-i) who attended guests, etc.
The person in charge of the infirmary was, in the opinion
of the Cardinal, both incapable and careless.
The numbers then in the College were: Students, forty-
seven; Fathers S.]., eight; Prefects, two; domestic serv-
ants, eighteen or nineteen.
102
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
Besides these, there were five non-residents paid by the
College: the physician, surgeon, agent, maestro di capella,
and the organist.
Lastly, the students complained that there were too
many fathers and servants.
"I have but summarily set down and merely indexed the
several heads of the domestic administration, which with
many other things that I have passed over for brevity sake,
to my mind call for reform."
Cardinal Sega then calls attention to the English people
then residing in Rome outside the College. He considers
that much of the trouble in the establishment" owed its
origin and growth" to the unrestricted intercourse which
they had been allowed to have with the students, and he
suggests that all communications even by letter between
these strangers and the collegians should be " wholly
suppressed or carefully restricted."
Towards the close of 1596, Pope Clement VIII appointed
Cardinal Borghese to be Vice-Protector of the College in
place of Cardinal Toleto, who, as already noted, had died in
September, before matters had been finally arranged-the
Cardinal Protector, Cardinal Cajetan, being still absent as
Legate in Poland. 1 With this appointment, and by the
advice of Dr. Barret, the Holy Father finally determined
the questions at issue between the Jesuit superiors and the
students of the English College. In the main he adopted
the suggestions of Cardinal Sega: the government by the
Society was continued, but the Rector, Father Agazzari, in
October 1597 gave place once more to Father Vitelleschi, the
future General of the Society. He, however, only retained
it for a year; for on November 2, 1598, Father Parsons
once more became Rector and retained the office till his
death in 1610. From this time till the suppression of the
Society, an English Jesuit was always appointed to the
office.
In accordance with the suggestion of Cardinal Sega that
the number of students should be diminished, and that
some of them should be sent to Douay, where Dr. Barret
had expressed his willingness to receive them, the Cardinal
1 Foley, Records, vi. p. 119.
A PERIOD OF UNREST
10 3
Protector-Cardinal Cajetan, who had now returned to
Rome-addressed a letter in October 1597 to the Rector
expressing the Pope's desire that this should be carried out.
The letter is endorsed: "Dismissal of six students, 1597."
But this is altogether too harsh an expression to use with
regard to them; for although they were all among the
number of the thirty-seven who had engaged in the agita-
tion, the letter specially directs that they receive proper
money and outfit, and that one reason at least for their
being transferred to Douay, was to lessen the number in
the Roman College so as to prevent the" heavy debts"
increasing. As a fact, at this time ten students left Rome
for Douay, and it is of interest to note that subsequently
all of these became zealous missionaries and exemplary
priests in England, except one-George Banister-who was
drowned in the river at Douay in 1598.1
Thus ended the great "stirs" of 1596. With these
changes and the exercise of a little tact on the part of the
Jesuit superiors, especially in the appointment of an English-
man as Rector, the students gradually settled down in
peace. Later, as will have to be noted, there were further
difficulties, but they were not so serious as those which
had taken place in the closing years of the sixteenth
century.
At this time an incident occurred at the College which
may be told in the words of Father Pollen. 2 "A few
scholars [of the English College] were found drinking in a
tavern, and, when asked who they were, thought it a capital
joke to say that they were from the German College. On
the other hand, the Jesuit authorities of that College, on
hearing that their good name had been touched, not un-
naturally appealed to their Cardinal Protector to discover
and punish the offenders. So when, at the end of September,
the same merry company paid another visit to 'The Sign
of the Rose' beside St. l\Iark's, they were promptly run in
by the sbirri or police of the time. Under these circum-
stances the affair took a serious aspect; for I talians are
much less inclined to condone such offences. The Pope,
1 Douay Diaries, i. p. 16.
2 The Institution oj the Arch'pt'iest Blackwell, p. 24.
104 THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROftfE
though appreciating the humorous side of the adventure,
did not overlook the offence against discipline. He laughed,
but added rather grimly, that · as the English had drunk
the Germans' wine, they should also go to prison for them'
-that being the ordinary punishment for their offence."
Finally, Father Parsons arranged a compromise, and the
students were confined in private rooms at the College,
where they were examined by the Don Accarizio Squarcioni,
a Canon of St. John Lateran's, whom the Pope sent to
conduct the enquiry.
Before passing on, one incident with which the English
College is connected should be referred to, as it tended to
accentuate the distrust of the secular priests in the politics
of the College. The English clergy had frequently mani-
fested to the Holy See their desire to have Bishops appointed
to rule them. Father Parsons was naturally consulted on
this matter, as he was at the time Rector of the English
College in Rome and in constant relation with the Cardinal
Protector of both the College and the English nation-
Cardinal Cajetan. At first, apparently, Parsons approved
of the project, but subsequently he suggested the appoint-
ment of a priest as Superior, with the title of Archpriest,
but enjoying episcopal jurisdiction. The Cardinal approved
of the suggestion, and in 1598 appointed Mr. George Black-
well, with full ecclesiastical jurisdiction, over the clergy of
England. He was given a council of six priests named by
the Cardinal, and empowered to make choice of another
six. The Archpriest was advised by the Cardinal to have
special regard to the peace of the Society of Jesus, and
it is said that with this letter was sent one containing
private instructions, .. enjoining him in all matters of im-
portance, to be guided by the advice of the Superior of the
Jesuits." 1
There is fortunately no necessity to enter into the merits
of the unfortunate quarrel about this appointment. It
was a great sorrow to many of the priests on the English
Mission not to have been granted episcopal government,
and the form of the order, coming from the Cardinal Pro-
tector of England, in place of being issued by the Holy
1 Tierney's Dodd. iii. p. 48 n.
A PERIOD OF UNREST
10 5
Father himself, led them to hope that further representa-
tions to Rome might be listened to if made at once. They
therefore deputed two of their number, William Bishop
and Robert Charnock, to proceed to Rome to represent
their petition. The second had been an old English College
student, and he and his companion arrived in Rome on
November 10, 1598.1 After being received by Fr. Parsons
into the Hospice for five days, they had to seek lodgings
in the city.
Canon Tierney 2 gives the sequel as follows: U In the
middle of the night, on the twenty-eighth of December,
they were suddenly arrested by a company of the Pope's
guards, and having been conveyed under escort to the
English College, were committed to the custody of Parsons
and placed in separate apartments. For nearly four
months they continued under restraint. Their papers were
seized; they were debarred from all communication with
each other; they were secluded from the counsel and intel-
ligence of their friends; and they were subjected to a series
of insulting and harassing examinations, conducted by
Parsons and registered by Father Tichbourne, another
member of the Society. On the seventeenth of February,
1599, the two Cardinals Cajetan and Borghese arrived at
the College: but the prisoners, instead of being allowed to
discharge their commission, were, in reality, placed upon
their defence; and a process, bearing all the characteristics
of a trial, immediately commenced. The previous deposi-
tions were read; new charges of ambition, and of a design
to procure mitres for themselves, were urged against the
deputies: the procurators of the archpriest were heard in
aggravation; and the accused, having been permitted to
reply, were remanded to their confinement, there to await
the decision of the Court. . . . That decision was pronounced
on the twenty-first of April. It released Bishop and his
companion from their restraint; but ordered them to leave
Rome within ten days; it forbade them to return either to
England, Scotland or Ireland, without the express permission
of the Pope or the Protector. JJ
All this curious history, which did not lose in the telling,
1 Tile Pilgrim Book, ed. Foley, 569. Z Dodd. iii. p. 52 n.
106 THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROJl.fE
could not have failed to increase the distrust in the
management of the College, which unfortunately existed in
the minds of the clergy in England. The effect on the
students on seeing two English priests, who had come to
lay a case before the Holy See, remaining as prisoners in
the College, may be better imagined than described.
CHAPTER V
THE JESUITS RULE THE VENERABILE
WHEN Father Parsons arrived in Rome, sometime in the April
of 1597, he found that Father Agazzari was once again installed
as Rector of the English Col1ege. He set himself at once to
work to probe the origin of the recent difficulties and to
excogitate some means to prevent their recurrence. He
almost at once got into relations with the students and won
their confidence. Two letters written at this period, one
by himself and another by one of the students, afford an
interesting insight into these negotiations.
To take Father Parsons' letter first. On May 5, 1597, he
writes to Father Holt: "God hath given at length a happy
end to these troubles and disagrements here in Rome:
which, in truth, as I have found to be greater and more
deeply rooted than ever I could imagine (though I had
heard much) so are we more bound to Almighty God for
the remedy which I believe verily to be found, and from the
root. . . .
"The means have been, next to God's holy Grace, certain
large conferences that we have had alone (I mean the
aggrieved part) with me together: wherein we have passed
over all the whole story of these troubles and the causes
of grief, discontent, contention, suspicion, emulation or
exasperation, that have been given or taken on both sides:
and as, on the one side, I have been content to hear the
scholars, and to yield them reason where I thought they
had it on their side, so, on the other, have they also been
content to hear me, when I thought my reason was better
than theirs, as also to distinguish where I presumed that,
with some reason, there might go accompanied also some
passion, suspicion, exaggeration or sinister interpretation:
and so finally, God be thanked, we are come to a full end
10 7
108 THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
and conclusion. . . . The scholars, on their sides, have
fully satisfied me; and I have procured to remove all
impediments on the behalf of the Society, and so shall do
for the time to come, so as I heartily hope that never the
like shall happen again. . . . And assure yourself, my
good father, that, in untwisting of this clue, and unfolding
matters past, I have found errors on both sides. . . . And
who will marvel at this, seeing the one were strangers
to the other, and the other had to deal with strangers. . . .
This union here is not made only within the house, but
with all in like manner abroad, both of your nation and
others, and, namely, with the fathers of our Society every-
where. And the success hath so contented His Holiness
and all the Cardinals of the town, as you would wonder.
And this day, being the Ascension of our Saviour, the Cardinal
Vice Protector, Borghesius, has been here at the college
himself and signified his exceeding great contentment of
this event." 1
In this letter, from which these quotations have been
made, it is clear that in Father Parsons' mind the fault
of the dissensions was not all on one side, and he more
than plainly hints that much of the misunderstanding
had come from the fact that foreigners had been put to
rule over Englishmen, whose characters they could not
understand. More interesting even than the letter of
Parsons is that of Edward Bennet,2 a student of the College,
written on the 16th of the same month.
" In my last," he says, "I have written unto you 3 of
Father Parsons' coming to Rome, since which time I
have forbom writinge, because I would first see to what
event our miseries would come unto; which now at last,
to my no little ease and great comfort, the contentment
of the scholars, the good of our country, I doubt not, I
have seen. Whereof now by the first opportunity. I
thought good for your comfort to make you partaker.
"Wherefore, that you may the better understand the
1 Tierney, iii. Ap. lxxviii.
I Ed. Bennet was one of eight students who came to Rome from
Douay in 159I.
a Dr. Hugh Griffin, Provost of Cambray.
THE JESUITS RULE THE VENERA BILE 10 9
series of our proceedings in ending of this business, you
shall first understand that he, whom we most feared, and
whom we accounted for our greatest enemy, hath been our
greatest friend; yea, and the only man that hath satisfied
us and put an end to these troubles, I mean Father Parsons.
The matter passed thus. Father Parsons, at his first
coming to Rome, lay at the Casa Professa, where many of
the scholars visited him, and myself amongst the rest did
the like. You must think that most of our discourse was
how to end these stirs and to put an end to that which
was an occasion of so great scandal. He offered us con-
ference to hear our griefs, to give us remedy where we had
reason, and desired of us likewise to hear reason, not to be
carried away with passion, because it was God's cause;
promising us that we should find all charity and indifferency
in him that we could piously desire or expect. This
passed on for a sevennight. In the meantime, he visited
our Protector and the Pope's Holiness, with whom after
a long discourse the Pope did ask him where he lay. He
answered him, at the Casa. Then the Pope asked him
whether he had been at the College :-but, to be brief, the
Pope desired him to come and lie at the College, to see
whether he might do any good.
"So he came to the College, the next day, and lieth there
still; so then we had better opportunity, with less trouble,
to go forward with that whereof we had had some speech.
He called us all together, told us we had God's cause in
hand, laid before us the detrements that our countrymen
suffered abroad because of our troubles, the inconveniences
within the college that we found, and, in fine, the harm
that the cause of England was like to suffer, if that these
factions and dissentions did continue.
"Such and like discourses being had, we all agreed
to deal with father Parsons and seen whether he was able
to give that satisfaction, which as yet we had not found.
Whereupon we had certain conferences with him, debated
and disputed all our whole matter from the beginning,
proposed our difficulties and our reasons, which he heard
with patience,-he, of the other side, the occasions which
he thought to have been always the hindrance of peace,
110 THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
the mediums to get peace again and gotten to conserve it :
for you must understand that our intention was, to make
a solid peace and to find out the occasions of perturbing
thereof, and, being found, to root them out. Much ado
there was, you must think, in ripping up so many old
festered sores; and you must think that he, that with reason
should think to please a multitude, must have a good
cause, [and] a great deal of patience: but truly, it pleased
God so to help them all, in this good purpose of theirs,
that, in all the time of their conferences, there fell out
nothing of any part, that might give disgust. Father
Parsons, for his part, yielded to the scholars to all things
that they themselves had reason for, with such satisfaction
of them, that surely I, which have known the very marrow
of their action, would never have believed it, if I had not
been an agent in it : and he, of the other side, I dare say,
stood much comforted; so that we made a most sweet,
loving and friendly peace, not only within the college,
but also without: and I do hope it will continue, for the
scholars be very quiet of mind. And, to tell you, as my
old friend, I did never think that Father Parsons could ever
have gotten that love of the scholars, as he hath gotten:
so that, now we have ended all our troubles, the scholars
confidently go to confession to the fathers. The Pope's
Holiness is wonderfully pleased with it, as much as he was
displeased with our troubles."
The writer then goes on to urge his friend Dr. Griffin
to range himself on the side of the Jesuits since "the
Jesuits have carried it away, for the Pope hath determined
to give all unto their hands and hath already given it." 1
The day after this letter was penned, six students of
the English College wrote to Father Aquaviva, the General
of the Society, expressing their gratitude for the services
of Father Parsons in settling the difficulties at the College.
They also begged the Father-General to allow him to stay
on with them, and hint that he would be to them an accept-
able Superior. The original, according to Mr. Tierney,
is in two places" corrected and interlined by Father Parsons
himself." Of the six who signed the paper, one was Edward
1 Tierney, üi. Ap. lxxx.
THE JESUITS RULE THE VENERABILE III
Bennet, the writer of the letter just given, and two others,
namely Trollope and \Volley, were among those whom
Parsons subsequently sent away from Rome to finish their
course at Rheims. The other four, including Edward
Bennet, were sent to England a few months later. l
There can be little doubt that one of the changes recom-
mended by Father Parsons in the administration of the
College, was the substitution of an Englishman for an Italian
as Rector. This, as has already been pointed out, was
subsequently effected by the appointment of Father Parsons
himself. But almost immediately the Italian, Father
Agazzari, who was holding office during the discussions
between Father Parsons and the students, prudently retired,
and was succeeded for a year by another Italian Jesuit
who made way for Father Parsons in November 1598.
It was just after the settlement of the dispute, that a
decree, issued in regard to the degree of doctor of divinity
by Pope Clement VIII, caused some suspicion among
the English clergy that there were influences hostile to
them at work in Rome. It had been represented-it is
not clear by whom-either to the Pope or to the Cardinal
Protector that it would be well to impose some restriction
on the power of taking or granting the degree. It was said
that, owing to the facility with which the doctorate was
granted, men from England without the necessary qualifica-
tions of age or of learning had been the recipients of the
doctor's cap. It was to remedy this that the Pope on
September 19, 1597, published his decree. By it he ordains
that so long as England is separated from the Roman See,
no English divine shall receive the degree unless in addition
to the usual four years of divinity study, he shall have spent
a similar time in It perfecting and consolidating" his
knowledge: he orders also that the fitness of any candidate
shall be attested by a written certificate from the president
of the college where he has studied, and from the Protector
or Vice-Protector of the English nation. 2 The promulgation
of this decree caused a great deal of excitement among the
English clergy. They, perhaps not unnaturally, but cer-
tainly without reason, connected it with the late events
1 Tierney, iii. Ap. lxxxii.
:a Ib., Ap. no. xvüi.; cf. p. 40 n.
112
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN RO
fE
in the English College, and saw in it a Jesuit attempt to
lower the status of the English clergy. As a matter of
fact, as far as appears, the sole motive of the Pope
was to raise the value of the doctorate in the opinion of
the world.
But something more must be said about the general
situation of Catholics in England, in order the better to
understand the nervous condition of the English College
students, even after peace had been proclaimed. From what
has already been said it will have been evident to all the
readers of these pages that the history of the English College
is closely connected with the general state of Catholicity
in England. Indeed, one of the most astonishing facts
that appears in the story of the dark days of the Elizabethan
persecutions and after, is this: whilst those that remained
faithful to the old Faith exhibited heroic courage and virtue
in their struggle for freedom of conscience, there were at
the same time amongst them open and lamentable divisions
and controversies, which undoubtedly contributed to
diminish their numbers, and to sap their influence with
their non-Catholic countrymen. Witness, for instance,
the miserable disputes of Wisbeach, and the bitter epistolary
and pamphlet war on the subject of the succession and other
numerous questions of policy. The fact is undeniable;
explain it as one may, it must be allowed to have existed.
Instead, therefore, of being as might have been expected,
one united body, with one political and religious aim, the
English Catholics, during the two centuries which followed
the enforcement of the Elizabethan Settlement of Religion,
were divided into various parties, which it became the
policy of the Protestant authorities to pit one against the
other, and thus foment internal dissensions. To-day we
cannot but wonder when we see how the spirit of obstinate
and violent animosity was aroused about some minor
point of independence or jurisdiction, and what bitter
jealousy was caused by the supposed progress or influence
of some particular Order or religious body. Oh! the pity
of it, is the thought uppermost in the mind, when the
history of this period of Catholicity in England is read
to-day. Oh! the pity of it, when one remembers that
THE JESUITS RULE THE VENERA BILE 113
behind all this, there existed a spirit of heroism in the face
of persecution which led even to the dungeon and to death.
This is not the time to write at length of this strange
contrast, but the memory of these divisions must be recalled
if the real inward history of the difficulties which beset
the English foundation in Rome are to be rightly understood;
for they were in reality the reflection of the divisiqns which
unfortunately existed in England between the secular
clergy and the regulars, more especially the Jesuit Fathers.
At this distance of time it may be said, without fear of
offence, that the fact that the College in Rome, though
founded for the education of secular priests, was directed
by members of the Society of Jesus, was the main source
of contention and strife. The General of the Society was
opposed in the beginning to taking this burden, but it
was forced upon him by Dr. Allen and others. Then
again, as we have seen, he proposed to withdraw his sub-
jects, when it becanle evident that their rule over the
College was one of the reasons for the continual difficulties,
but he was constrained not to do so by an order of the Pope,
procured by means of Dr. Barret, the President of Douay.
On the whole, reading the documents and letters that
exist in great abundance on the controversy, and studying
the various visitations of the College made during the
course of its history from its beginning to the suppression
of the Society, the candid observer is bound to regret that
the desire of the General of the Jesuits was not granted,
and that some English secular priests were not appointed
to rule the establishment. In the event, it certainly
would have been the best solution for both parties, and in
all probability the College would have become a much more
flourishing centre of English ecclesiastical life than in fact
it ever was during the many decades of Jesuit rule.
Even if it be allowed, that in the beginning the arrange-
ment made by Allen was useful and perhaps even necessary,
we are bound to confess that in the course of time it became
the very kernel of the too numerous contests between
superiors and students. That the Jesuit missionaries in
England were zealous and self-sacrificing is demonstrated
by their work and by the many who laid down their lives
I
114 THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
for the Faith; but in the opinion of their secular brethren
they became altogether too powerful. In 1623, a few
years after Father Parsons' death, when the English province
of the Society was founded, the Jesuit Fathers held or
occupied a hundred missions or stations--one fourth of
the whole number in England. And, unfortunately for
the harmonious working of the seculars and regulars on
the English Mission, the Jesuits, no doubt with the highest
motives, successfully opposed the appointment of Bishops
in England. When at length one was appointed by Pope
Gregory XV (William Bishop), he was succeeded within a
very short time by another (Richard Smith) whom continued
opposition forced to retire to France, and for almost another
fifty years England remained without a pastor. This
naturally was a period of quarrels, jealousies and disorders,
de quibus melius est tacere quam loqui.
n is impossible not to contrast this state with that of
Ireland, which, subject as it was to the same governing
powers, and suffering terrible persecution, was always
able to preserve its old Hierarchy and to remain a Catholic
nation, whilst England (like Norway and Sweden) for bad
political reasons lost the blessing, and remained a prey to
the dominant heresy. The want of union, resulting from
the absence of proper authority, led undoubtedly to a
diminution of the number of Catholics generally, and the
fact that the College in Rome for the education of seculars
remained during this period under the Jesuit superiors,
led to unworthy suspicions of their desire to keep their
hand over it, in order to serve their own purposes.
On the other hand it must be borne in mind that they
were there by the express wish of those whom they had
every right to consider as representing the English people
and clergy. As time went on the fathers naturally clung
to the direction of an establishment over which they had
presided from the beginning. But the position was un-
fortunate, since the English clergy, having several times
endeavoured to get the College transferred to the seculars
without success, gradually lost their interest in it.
The consequences were inevitable. Among the secular
clergy of England the reputation of the College was much
THE JESUITS RULE THE VENERA BILE 115
lowered.
Iany families no longer thought of sending
their sons, who were intended for the Church, to Rome;
the Jesuit College of St. Omer could not furnish a supply
of subjects sufficiently advanced in their studies to be sent
there, and that of Douay refused to send them. Ultimately
the superiors of the College were constrained to change
the original plan of the Institution, and to take youths not
well grounded in their studies and not certain of their
vocation. The Cardinal Protector and the Sacred Con-
gregation of Propaganda were obliged with grief to witness
the decadence of the College, the revenues of which were
devoted to the support of youths mostly discontented, who
in the end were of much smaller advantage to the English
Mission than might have been the case under different
circumstances. During the same time the College of Doua y
was a most flourishing establishment with more than 150
students, which sent into England yearly from five to ten
priests.
The authorities in Rome endeavoured to remedy this
unsatisfactory state of things, and several Visitations were
made at the College. It would serve no useful purpose to
dwell on these in detail. Suffice it to say that, in spite
of decrees and regulations, little or no advantage resulted.
In vain, for example, did Propaganda, in order to meet the
complaints of the English clergy, publish orders (like that
of
larch 4, 1624) prohibiting the students from entering
into the religious life; in vain did Pope Alexander VII in
166 7 ordain that every English College student should bind
himself by oath to serve the English :Mission as a secular
priest, and not to enter any religious Order; in vain were
repeated demands for support for the College made by the
Cardinal Protector, the Nuncio in Brussels, to Doua y,
and to the chief missionary priests in England. The replies
were cold excuses or reiterated expressions of complaints,
as maybe seen in the papers still preserved. The Roman
College did not interest them and the reason is clear: the
secular clergy had not the control in what they regarded,
it must be allowed with reason, as their own house.
For the period 1620 to 1700 the Registers are apparently
missing, but from documents in Propaganda and in the
116 THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
English College archives, it is abundantly clear that the
Roman Institution does not, in results, compare favourably
with the other English Colleges at Douay, Lisbon, Paris
or Liége. Whilst the revenue of the Roman house was
greater than that of the other Colleges, the number of the
students was smaller, and the number of priests who ulti-
mately went to the English Mission was small in proportion
to the number of the students.
At the beginning of the eighteenth century Monte
Porzio was purchased by the College. A century before,
the Society of Jesus had bought the property for 6000
crowns, and had spent another 6000 on the buildings,
about twice as much as it should have cost, according to
the complaint of the Jesuits themselves. The English
College had used it during nearly the entire century as
a villeggiatura, and the Society received a small rent for
it. In 1703 the Jesuits petitioned Cardinal Caprara, the
Protector of the Venerabile, to buy from them the property
for 6000 crowns; and the Cardinal, who was unwilling to
give up Monte Porzio as the place of villeggiatura for the
English students, by a decree of March 13, 1704, sanctioned
the sale for 6000 crowns. It was not, however, till April 3,
1708, that the deed of sale was executed. 1
From a statement made by the College authorities in
1667 to Cardinal Barberini 2 we learn the following par-
ticulars about the state of the Institution. Up to June 6,
1667, it is stated that 410 priests had been sent on the
Mission from the College. Of these fifty were authors
of books of controversy, 130 had suffered imprisonment
and torture, and above forty had laid down their lives.
Since the last Visit in 1630, sixty-nine labourers had
gone to the English vineyard and two more were ready to go.
All the students at this time (1667) in the College Hare
of excellent dispositions, being almost all of genteel families."
Since 1630, the young priests of the establishment had been
exercising the duty of catechising and had been the means
of converting sixty Protestants to the Catholic Faith.
In the Venerabile at the time there were eight Jesuits,
1 Lib. ii. p. 130, and Deed of Sale, lib, 442. p. 136.
2 Serift" 47, 5.
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THE JESUITS RULE THE VENERA BILE 117
two of the convictors belonging to the Society; twenty-two
scholars, of whom only one was a convictor, two lawyers
ad lites, one of whom was rent-gatherer, the other convictor
and nine servants-in all forty-one mouths to be fed.
The small number of the students is accounted for.
First, because in the time of Pope Gregory XIII the College
had an income of 13,000 crowns besides great gifts to support
the fifty students on the foundation, whereas at the time
(1667) the income was barely 5000 crowns. Secondly,
because the College was heavily in debt. Thirdly, because
the fire in 1653 (which, by the way, was said to have been
caused by some turbulent students and for which some were
put into prison 1) had caused so much talk that parents
would not send their sons to the College, and eight that were
to have come from St. Omer's refused to do so. Fourthly,
because in 1655 four students became religious.
Further, the Plague of 1655 prevented arrivals and three
priests had left for England, two had been dispensed fron1
the oath; some students had died and one was sent away.
But for these causes there should have been thirty-five or
forty students at the College in 1667, as there had been
usually since the Visit of 1630.
1 Seritt., 27, no. I.
CHAPTER VI
SALVETE FLORES MARTYRUM
FROM these melancholy reflections we may usefully turn to
consider one of the most glorious pages in the history of
the English College in Rome; as glorious as, if not indeed
more glorious, than any similar Institution can boast of
possessing: the page which records the martyrdom for the
Faith of so many of its alU'1n111'. Proud indeed must be every
son of the Roman Alma Mater at the thought of the heroic
sufferings and deaths of so many of the old students of the
Venerabile, and of the fact that the very foundations of
the College were washed, as it were, by the blood of the
many martyrs who went forth as priests from its walls to
help to preserve the Catholic religion in England. They
were true heroes in every sense of the word, knowing as
they did that they were preparing themselves in their
college life for certain persecution and possible death, in
the exercise of their ministry in England. This is why the
great St. Charles of Milan thought it an honour to receive
these young men when passing through his metropolitan
city on their way to and from their own country. This is
why the sweet St. Philip, who lived close to the College,
on meeting them in the streets was wont to salute them
with the words of the hymn for the feast of the Holy
Innocents, Salvete FlO1'es Ma1'tyr1tm.
They had the spirit of martyrs even during the years
of their preparation, as the Annual Letters prove, and their
successors of to-day may well be proud to occupy their
places. For example, this is what is written in the very
early days of the College about the students: "Omitting
for the present further mention of their piety and virtue,
their detachment from earthly desires and the goods and
conveniences of this life, the loftiness of their purpose to
u8
SAL VETE FLORES MARTYRUM
119
aim at nothing merely transitory or mortal, and many
sin1ilar virtues, it were hardly possible to express their
great yearning for martyrdom. So eager are they to shed
their life-blood for Christ, that this forms the constant
topic of their conversation, and of the trial-sermons delivered
in the Refectory at meals. Nor can our Fathers in their
domestic exhortations awaken a livelier interest than by
urging them to shed their blood, and to lay down their
lives for the Faith. The louder the boastings of the heretics,
and the more terrible the reports of the cruelties committed
in England, the more ardent are their desires. So much
so that, brooking no delay, many would shorten the time
of their studies to be sooner free to rush into the fray,
reckoning little of the fame and honour to be acquired by
a full course of the more arduous branches of learning."
Moreover, as the writer goes on to show, many before
coming to their studies had already had practical experi-
ence of what these persecutions meant. u It is indeed,"
he writes, U amazing to behold such fervour in these young
men, of whon1 not a few have, in the cause of religion, tasted
of threatenings, outrage and crosses, thus experiencing the
sweetness of suffering for the name of Christ. I t is scarce
two years since one of them was cruelly flogged, his ears
were bored through with red-hot iron, and he himself thrust
into a foul dungeon, whence, in consideration of his youth,
he was released after a confinement of son1e months. From
that prison he wrote a letter in answer to his father, who
sought by threats and reproaches to force him back from
the Catholic Faith. His reply, having been deemed worthy
of publication by Cardinal Paliotti, can be read by all.
It is a wonderful expression of the fervour and joy in suffer-
ing that inspires its youthful writer, whose conduct at
present (1580) in this College proves the abundance of
Divine Grace he has earned by these torments and
inflictions.' ,
This student's name was apparently John Tippets, who
came to the College in 1580 from Douay with five others,
and who, having been ordained in 1584, entered the
Carthusian Order and died in religion. The description
of the sufferings of this young Confessor for religion given
120 THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN R01..fE
in the Douay Diaries is as follows: "One Tippet a younge
man sumtyme student of Doway was apprehended here
in this city and brought before the biteship (Bishop) of
London and :Mr. Recorder, where he was straytly examined
in matters of conscience; to the which directly he answered
as a good Christian Catholic, and through God's grace
could not be perverted. Wherefore the' biteship , and the
recorder being outrageously moved against him, contrary
to all justice and law, they condemned hin1 to be whipped
at a cart's tail, and to be bored through the ear with a hot
iron, which was executed in most despiteful and cruellest
manner that might be executed to any rogue . . . the
good and godly young man bearing all with wonderful
patience, not letting to make protestation of his faith all
the way of his martyrdom, and as yet (Dec. 1579) contrary to
their own laws, they keep him in Newgate." 1
Other similar cases are mentioned in these records.
One youth was kept three days hanging by the feet to shake
his determination to becon1e a Catholic. Another of good
family, after practising his religion in secret through fear
of offending his father, fled to the Continent and to Rome:
another, V{illiam Brookesby, the son of a rich father, aban-
doned his worldly prospects and refused an advantageous
marriage, the solicitations of his relatives failing to turn
him from his purpose of studying for the priesthood. Again,
" A young student. was arrested at the same time as his
patron, a noble man and a Catholic. [This youth was] that
most glorious martyr of Christ, Sherwin. As neither threats
nor promises could extort from him a word of inforn1ation
against Catholics, he was cast into a filthy hole and deprived
of all necessaries of life. In the darkness and the squalor
of this dungeon, the young man was visited with sweetness
of heavenly consolation even so as to have a vision of the
death agony of Christ, by the contemplation of which he
was greatly strengthened.
" After some days he was again led out to be examined,
but as they could not get a word fron1 him they struck him
in the face, adding threats of scourging and the rack. He
was thrust again into his dungeon, where he suffered sharp
1 Douay Diaries, i. 149.
SAL VETE FLORES MARTYRUM
121
rheumatic pains from the damp. Being brought before the
court for a third time, he was again plied with questions,
but without result. At length the judge, being exasper-
ated, ordered him to be thrust into his noisome den to rot
there unless he would inform. It was also hinted that
should he remain obstinate, he would be sent to Bridewell,
a house of correction for malefactors and vagabonds, to
be daily flogged there. He passed many weeks in this
deplorable plight, when, having been set free by the Divine
Goodness, he joined us here." 1
At the same time as the above youthful confessor for
the Faith, there came to the English College in Rome Ittwenty-
three youths of great promise, most of them being of gentle
birth and of tried constancy in the Faith." One of these
was importuned by parents and friends, and cast into prison
because he would not renounce his Faith and conform to
the established religion. By the help of God he escaped
and managed to cross into Flanders. And, adds the writer
of the A nnual Letters of 1580, It many others have given no
less brilliant proof of their unswerving loyalty to the Faith."
At this period there came to the College, not as a student
for the priesthood but as a lay-pensioner, an Englishman
named George Gilbert, who had already done so much for
the Catholic cause in England and who died in Rome on
October 6, 1583. When the Jesuit fathers first came to
work in England, Gilbert became their constant guide and
benefactor. At his own cost he set up a printing press for
them and defrayed all the cost. He was regarded as the
chief helper of the proscribed seminary priests; most of
his property was sequestered, and to a void arrest he came
to the Continent and took refuge in the English College at
Rome. On departing fron1 England Gilbert left Fr. Parsons
a sun1 of money and seven horses for the use of the mis-
sionaries, and on his way through Rouen and Rhein1s,
though at the time comparatively poor, he made generous
offerings to some nuns in distress and to the College. He
had the spirit of a martyr, and U since his arrival at Rome,"
says the writer of the Annual Letters, " he ever evinces the
same earnestness in the cause of religion. He was accom-
1 Foley. Records, etc., vi. 75.
122
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROllfE
parried hither by a young relative of the illustrious martyr,
Sir Thomas More, who had conferred many benefits on the
Fathers of the Society and the Catholic cause, and whose
conduct amongst us proves that he is not unworthy of his
sainted kinsman." 1 This was Charles Basset, who had to
leave the College later on account of ill-health, and who
died at Rheims in 1584. He was a rival of his friend George
Gilbert in generous sacrifices for religion. He left his money
to Doua y College. 2
An interesting benefaction to the College in Rome,
made by George Gilbert somewhere about 1582, and cer-
tainly between 1580 and 1583, was the series of pictures
of the English martyrs on the walls of the College church.
Between 1580 and 1585 many important concessions were
made to the College by Pope Gregory XIII viva voce-that
the relics of these martyrs might be used, in default of others,
in the consecration of altars; that the Te Deum might be
sung on the news of the death of any missionary priest for
the Faith, and that their pictures with their names attached
might be painted in the Church of the English College. It
was apparently George Gilbert who arranged for the series
of sixty-three martyrs of England, fron1 Blessed John Fisher,
who laid down his life on June 22, 1535, to Blessed Richard
Thirkeld, who suffered on May 20, 1583. The sight of
these pictures helped to keep up the heroic spirit which
existed, according to every testimony, among the students
of the Venerabile, and of which they gave ample proof when
their time came to return to the missionary field in England.
Here it is possible to do little more than record the names
of those alumni of the College who gave the supreme testi-
mony to their Faith on the scaffold. The roll of honour is
a glorious one. I t contains the names of six who were
declared Beati, and of thirty-six who were pronounced
Venerable Servants of God by the Decree of the Congregation
of Rites of December 29, 1880. Besides these may be
counted some seven others whose cause was not considered
sufficiently certain for their names to be included in the
official recognition of martyrdom.
The first College student to lay down his life, as has
1 Foley, vi. 77. 3 Ib., P 153.
SALVETE FLORES MARTYRUM
12 3
already been noted, was RalPh Sherwin, one of the party
of priests including Fr. Parsons and Fr. Campion, who were
entertained in 1580 by St. Charles Borromeo, when they
were passing through Milan. He suffered death at Tyburn
on December I, 1581, together with Fr. Campion and
Fr. Alexander Briant, a student of Rheims College. U As
Sherwin," says the writer of the A nnual Letters, U belongs
to us and was the first of our students to lay down his life
for the Faith, I will here set down a brief sketch taken from
a work on the English persecution, which has lately come
out. It is hardly possible to tell the ardour wherewith
Sherwin yearned to fly to the help of his wretched country.
While here in Rome, the news of the inflictions and tortures
which his fellow countrymen were made to suffer, far from
daunting, fired him with more intense longing. His dis-
position, talents and virtue would have enabled him to
ha ve been of no slight use to his country, had he not been
seized soon after landing. Laden with irons he was cast
into a darksome dungeon, yet his soul was free. . . . At
length he was threatened with the rack and there was every
appearance that the threat would be put in execution. On
his part he prepared himself to suffer torture and even death.
. . . Having received sentence of death in company of
thirteen others, he was on the 1st of December placed on a
sledge or hurdle, with Briant (Father Campion being placed
on another by himself) and dragged through the streets to
Tyburn. . . . Campion having been executed, the hangman,
as if to terrify him, seized on him with his blood -stained
hands, saying: (Come, Sherwin, and take your reward:
Sherwin turned to him with a smiling countenance, embraced
him, kissing his gory hands. The bystanders were so
moved at this that they compelled the sheriff to let him
speak if he would. He, therefore, took his stand on the
ladder and made a most powerful address to the people,
wherein he amazed all by the fervent expression of his
interior joy. He blessed them all, forga ve everyone,
prayed for all, calling his persecutor and those who had
sought his life his dearest friends. Finally his neck being
in the noose, he continued till his last breath to exclaim
in tones of unspeakab:e joy and with a cheerful countenance:
12 4 THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
( Jesu, Jesu, be to me Jesus! ' while the crowd cried out
( May the Lord God receive your blessed soul, good Sherwin.'
Thus adorned with the martyr's crown did he fall asleep
in the Lord.
(( Praise be to God and to the Blessed Virgin Mary." 1
The next student of the Venerabile to lay down his life
for his religion was Luke Kirby, a native of the diocese of
Durham, or according to the Douay Diary, of Colchester.
He was a student at Douay before coming to Rome, and
was ordained at Cambray September 16, 1577. Passing
into England for some months, Fr. Luke Kirby returned
to Douay on his way to Rome in July 1578. He was only
a short time in the College and formed one of the party
who accompanied Fr. Parsons, Campion and the martyr
Sherwin from Rome in 1580. Lea ving Doua y, on his return
to England in the July of that year, he was arrested at the
same time as his companion, Blessed Ralph Sherwin, and
thrown into prison. Whilst there he was tortured by what
was known as (( the Scavenger's daughter." He was a
prisoner in the Tower of London in 1581, and suffered death
at Tyburn May 20, 1582.
In the A nnals for 1582 another priest, John Sheri,
executed for his religion with Fr. Luke Kirby, is named as
a student of the English College. He, after studying at
Rheims, had apparently gone to Rome as a subdeacon to
study his theology in 1576,2 and would seem to have been
one of the students lodged in the old Hospice prior to the
opening of the College proper. He returned to Douay as
a priest in July 1578,3 and left for England the following
month: being, as the Douay Diary says, (( the first student
of the Roman Seminary" to join the English Mission. 4
The account of his martyrdom is thus given in the Annual
Letters: "After undergoing the most exquisite torments,
the rack and the hardships of imprisonment, they (Luke
Kirby and John Shert) were condemned to a shameful
death for the brilliant answer they made to their judges
in defence of the faith. Bound to a hurdle, they were
dragged by horses from the Tower of London to the place
1 Foley, Records, vi. pp. 78-80.
3 Ib., p. 14 2 .
:z Douay Diary, i. p. 113.
, Ib.
SAL VETE FLORES MARTYRUM
12 5
of execution before an immense crowd of people. Ha ving
openly professed their faith and innocence, they were hanged
on the gallows, their heads were next severed, and they
were disembowelled and quartered. Their quarters, which
were parboiled, would have been placed over the City gates,
were it not that the people, moved by the fate of others
who had lately been executed for the same cause and with
the like barbarity, began to murmur. Hence, after burning
their entrails, they buried the mutilated remains of the
martyrs under the gibbet. Certain Catholic noblemen, having
marked the spot, took counsel to have these precious relics
removed, which was successfully accomplished under favour
of the night. Not only have several parts of England been
enriched by this priceless treasure, but portions of it have
been brought even to this College.
"The Divine Goodness has had regard to the ardent
devotion wherewith the Catholics venerate these hallowed
remains. Many are wont to go to the city gates or to
London Bridge, where the heads and quarters of these
martyrs are placed, and to a void suspicion inquire of the
bystanders who these traitors were; they then secretly
venerate them and put up a silent prayer. Besides those
just mentioned, two other priests have laid down their lives
with no less fortitude and constancy, viz. Laurence Richard-
son, for some time a resident here, and Thomas Cottam,
a novice." 1 The former was ordained at Douay in 1577,
and probably came to Rome between that and 1581, when
he is reported as being already in prison in England. He
was known also under the name of Laurence Richardson. 2
The second, Thomas Cottam, was ordained at Douay
in 1580, and sent to the English Mission in the same year.
He had previously been at Douay in 1577, in which year
he received the orders of subdeacon and deacon at Cam-
bray. In 1579, still as a deacon, he went to Rome with
six others, "partim devotionis partim studio rum causa." 3
He returned in the April of 1580 before his ordination on
25th of May at Soisson. He went to England with Fr.
Campion's party in June of the same year. Although the
stay of this holy martyr in Rome was very brief, his name
1 Foley. Records. vi. p. 86. \I Douay Diary. i. p. 181. a Ib.
126
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
is given in an early list of U students who died in the
persecutions in England." 1
The same year, 1582, at York, there suffered Father TVilliam
Lacey, who was ordained priest in Rome and whose name is
entered in the old list of English College students who gave
their lives for religion. He had married the widowed
mother of Father Joseph Creswell, the Jesuit, and upon
her death came to Rome to prepare for the priesthood.
On his return to England, after exercising his sacred ministry
for a short time, he was taken at York, and after being
committed to prison in the Castle was sentenced to death
as a priest and executed on August 22, 1582.
The following year, 1583, on May 30, Father TV illiam
H art received the martyr's crown also at York. He had
been educated in his early youth at Lincoln College, Oxford,
and on his conversion there went to Douay to finish his
humanities. Thence he came to the English College in
Rome, and being ordained,left for the English Mission with
forty-six other priests, thirteen of whom became martyrs.
A letter, written to Father Agazzari in April 1583, describes
the great work that this late student (vestræ olim disciPlinæ
alumnus) was doing in the city of York. And in the same
month Allen received the notice of his glorious death U for
the Church of Christ and the authority of His Vicar."
U He was a youth," adds the writer, U as you know, inno-
cent and modest, and a learned and holy priest. When
he was led to the scaffold (where inter iniquos reputatus
est) many saluted him with kind and respectful words." 2
After his execution a multitude of those who were present,
even at the risk of arrest, endeavoured to possess theln-
selves of his clothes and other relics of the holy martyr. 3
The year 1584 gave four and possibly five English
College students to the Church as martyrs, two, George
Haydock and Thomas Hamerford, at Tyburn on the same
day, February 12; the third, TVilliam ChaPlain,4was ordained
1 Archives, Paper B. Nomi degli Alunni morti Ira i tormenti netle
persecuzioni d'I nghilterra.
II Douay Diary, i. p. 353.
3 lb., p, 3 2 7.
t He is among the dilati and his name therefore does not appear in the
Decree.
SALVETE FLORES
[ARTYRU;"1
12 7
priest in the College by Bishop Goldwell in 1584, and left
for England immediately afterwards to receive his martyr's
crown the same year. According to the A nnual Letters
for this same year, the College gave a fourth martyr to the
Church during its course in the person of John Iv! ltndell,
"a priest and former student of this College," 1 who was
executed together with George Haydock and Thomas
Hamerford. Munden had held a fellowship at Oxford, and,
being deprived of it on account of his religion, came abroad
and from Rheims passed to Ronle, where he was ordained
in 1582. In that year he left for England, where he was
soon discovered, and after a year's imprisonment in the
Tower, suffered at Tyburn with his two fellow-students,
February 12, 1584. To this number we may add the name
of James Lomax, who was ordained at the College in 15 8 2.
Dr. Barret, the Rector of Rheims, in a letter to Fr. Agazzari
dated August II, 1583, says: "P. Lomax was captured
on his very landing, and not without a certain carelessness
on his part, as some think; for, when accosted by a person,
( You appear to me to be a priest,' ( I am,' he replied. and
was consequently arrested." He is said to have died in
chains in prison this year. 1584-
The next English College student to receive the palm
of martyrdom was John Lowe. a Londoner, who came to
the Venerabile in 1581 and was ordained by Bishop Goldwell
in 1583- Just before Christmas of that year. he passed
through Rheims on his way back to England. "Eight
days ago." writes Dr. Barret the Rector to Fr. Agazzari on
December 28. 1583. "Father Lowe started on his journey,
strong in body and soul. and much stronger in his deter-
mination to face all dangers." 2 The blessed martyr had
been a Protestant minister before his conversion. and had
made his studies at Douay before coming to Rome to receive
his Orders. He was arrested at York. and suffered there
on :March 15. or as one authority says. on December 10.
15 86 .
In this same year Fr . John Harrison died when in
prison for his religion. He had been ordained deacon in
1577 at Douay, leaving on August 2 of that year for the
1 Foley, Records, vi. p. III.
:z Douay Diary, i. 334.
128 THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
English College at Rome, where he was admitted as a
convict or among the alumni of the Venerabile. He
apparently returned to Douay, and was ordained priest
in March 1580. He went to England in April 158I.
Br. Foley identifies this blessed John Harrison with the
priest who died in prison in 1586. The exact date is not
known, but it would have been about that time. Accord-
ing to the history: (( Upon Monday in Easter-week, the
house of :Mr. Heathe at Cumberford (in the north) was
searched by Thornes and Ca wdall, and l\1r. Harrison, a
priest, there apprehended. They so cruelly used l\1rs.
Heathe at that time, tossing and tumbling her, that she,
thereby frightened, died the Friday following."
The following year, 1587, added one more English College
student to the roll of heroes. This was Martin Sherton,
or Sherson, born in the diocese of York. He came to Douay
in 1580, and was confirmed there in the chapel of the Presi-
dent, by the Bishop of St. Asaph, Dr. Goldwell, who was
passing through Douay at that time. In March of the
following year, 1581, he left to complete his studies in
Rome,! and entered the College in May of that year. 2 He
left Rome on account of his health in May 1585, and return-
ing to Douay was ordained on April 5, 1586. He left for
the English Mission shortly after-on June 16, 1586. His
ministry did not last long, as he was arrested in London
as a priest and died in chains in the Marshalsea prison in
the February of 1587.
The year 1588 added four more names of English College
students to the golden list of martyrs. The first was
Robert Morton, a Y orkshireman. He entered the College
at Rheims in 1573 and began his theology the following
year. He came to Rome in 1586, and after passing some
months as a convictor, became an alumnus of the College
inIApril 1587, and in the same month received the minor
orders, the subdeaconate and the diaconate. He obtained
permission to return to Douay to be ordained priest. He
reached his old seminary on May 27, and had the priesthood
conferred on him by the Cardinal of Guise in his pri va te
chapel at Rheims on the 14th of June of the same year,
1 Douay Diary, pp. 167, 177. I Foley, vi. p. 147.
SAL VETE FLORES MARTYRUM
129
1587. He departed a fortnight afterwards for the English
Mission, but was quickly discovered in London, arrested,
and on August 18, 1588, II was hanged, bowelled and quar-
tered upon a new pair of gallows set up in Lincoln's Inn
Fields." Bishop Challoner says that II Hugh Moore, a
Lincolnshire gentleman and convert," was put to death with
him, both behaving II with admirable patience and con-
stancy, yea with joy and pleasure." They were not
allowed to speak to the people, the heretics fearing the effect
of their burning words upon the minds of the hearers in
fa vour of the old religion. No less than twenty-one priests,
ten laymen and one lady (total thirty-two) were butchered
in that fatal year. 1
The second of the four students to suffer this year,
1588, was Father Richard Leigh, who went to Rheims in
1581, where, having studied his humanities, he was sent to
the Roman Seminary in September 1582. He became an
inmate of the College in the November of that year, and
took the mission oath on June 29, 1583. He was ordained
priest in February 1586, and passed through Douay on his
way to England in the June of that year. He was soon
discovered to be a priest, and being apprehended and charged,
was cast into prison and banished. He, however, managed
to return again to continue his missionary labours, but was
seized a second time, and being condemned to death,
suffered at Tyburn August 30, 1588. II He was known,"
writes Br. Foley, II by the alias of Garth and was betrayed
on one occasion to Justice Young, by the unhappy apostate
Anthony Tyrrel." 2
Father Edward James, the third alumnus to die for his
faith in 1588, was admitted to the English College in
September 1581, was ordained subdeacon and deacon in
the College chapel by the Venerable Bishop Goldwell in
1582, and received the sacred priesthood the following
year. He suffered the usual cruel death at Chichester on
October I, 1588. He had as companion another priest,
Father Ralph Crockett, on the scaffold. II Their quarters
were set up upon poles, and one of Mr. Crockett's, which
had fallen down, was carried off to Douay, where Bishop
1 See Foley, vi. p. 74. \I Records, vi. p. 157.
K
13 0 THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN RO},fE
Challoner states that he had seen it. 1 The A nnual Letters
state that Edward James did not leave Rome for the Mission
till September IS8S. In that month he and three com-
panions, Robert Bennett, Edmund Calverley and Chris-
topher Atherton, "were admitted to kiss the feet of His
Holiness (Sixtus V), who received them most graciously
and made them a present of two hundred crowns for their
journey." 2
The fourth student to suffer this same year was Chris-
toPher Buxton. He was a native of Derbyshire, and had
received his early education in the private school kept by
the intrepid martyr Nicholas Garlick, at Tideswell in the
Peak country. In IS8I he went to Rheims, and two years
later had the tonsure and minor orders. In IS84 he came
to Rome and received Holy Orders in IS86. Leaving for
the English Mission in the April of 1S87, and passing through
Rheims, he set out for England in the June of that year.
He was arrested within a year of his arrival, and suffered
martyrdom at Canterbury with two fellow-priests in
October IS88. He was the last of the heroic trio to suffer,
and had to witness the horrible cruelties inflicted upon his
two companion priests, Robert Wilcox and Robert Widmer-
pool. At the last moment his persecutors, hoping that
his constancy might be shaken by the sight, offered him
his life if he would conform to the established religion. To
this proposal he replied that" he would not purchase cor-
ruptible life at such a rate, and that if he had a hundred
lives he would willingly lay them all down in defence of
the faith." 3 \Vhilst he offered up his life at Canterbury,
on the same day his fellow-student in the Venerabile was
dying in the same cause at Chichester.
In IS89 and IS90 two more English College alumni
suffered martyrdom. ChristoPher Bailey, or Balas, the first
of these two to receive the crown, was a Durham county
man and a convert in early life; coming to the College in
IS83 when only nineteen years old, he received minor orders
the same year from Bishop Goldwell. In September IS84
he left Rome on account of health and came to Douay,
1 Records, vi. p. 144- \I Ib., p. 113.
8 Menology of England and Wales, p. 469,
SALVETE FLORES MARTYRUM
13 1
where he was ordained in 1587, and he went to England on
November 2, 1588. He was soon arrested as a seminary
priest, imprisoned and cruelly racked, II being suspended
for twenty-four hours together; all which he bore with
wonderful patience and courage, though otherwise of an
infirm body and tending to consumption." He suffered
death in Fleet Street, London, March 4, 1590. At the same
time there were executed Nicholas Horner upon a gibbet
in Smithfield, and Alexander Blake upon a gibbet in Gray's
Inn Lane before his own house, for receiving priests. Of
these one was a tailor, the other a poor man that kept
lodgings. 1
In 1590 Edmu1zd Duke laid down his life for his religion.
He had come to Rheims in the March of 1583, and was con-
firmed by the Bishop of Soissons the same year in the chapel
of the Cardinal of Rheims. He was sent to Rome for his
theological studies with nine companions in the August of
15 8 4, where he received the minor orders from Bishop
Goldwell the following year. In 1589 he left the College
for the English Mission, passing through Rheims on Octo-
ber 23 of that year, and remaining at the College till March 22,
when he departed with three other priests, namely Richard
Hill, Richard Holiday and James Hogg. They landed in
the north of England and were immediately seized, and all
four suffered death upon the scaffold on May 27, 159 0 .
The year 1591 gave two more of the English College
students to the roll of the Church's martyrs. Polidore
Palmer, alias Oliver Plasden, after studying at Rheims,
was sent on to Rome in March 1584. He was ordained sub-
deacon and deacon in November, and priest in December
15 8 7, at the age of five-and-twenty. In April of the
following year he reached Rheims on his way to England,
and remained there till the 2nd of September. After
labouring probably in the neighbourhood of London from
1588 till the end of 1591, he was arrested whilst assisting
at a Mass celebrated in the house of the martyr, Swithun
Wells, by his friend Edmund Jennings on November 8,
1591. He was seized by Topcliffe and his pursuivants
together with all the others assisting at the Holy Sacrifice,
1 Foley, vi. p. 160.
132 THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
and executed at Tyburn on December 10, 1591, together
with his friend and companion at the English College,
Eustace White. "They suffered," says the DOltay Diary,
" the penalty of high treason not because they were traitors,
but because as Catholic priests who had celebrated l\Iass,
which in England is punished by the penalties attached to
high treason." 1
Eustace White was a native of Lincolnshire. He was
born at Louth and became a convert in early life, coming
to study at Rheims in October 1584. At the age of twenty-
six he was admitted to the English College in Rome, being
already apparently a priest. He remained at the College
till October 1588, when he left for the English :Mission in
company with the martyr already mentioned, Christopher
Bailey or Balas. The ordinary account of his martyrdom
states that he was arrested at the Mass celebrated in Swithun
Wells's house with Fr. Plasden and others. "He was cruelly
tortured in prison to make him betray his fellow Catholics
and at one time was hung up by the hands for eight hours
together, but all was in vain. Nothing could shake his
constancy, and all he did was to cry out: 'Lord, more
pain if Thou pleasest, and more patience.'" He was con-
demned merely for his priesthood, and suffered at Tyburn
with the blessed company 2 of his fellow-student at the
V enerabile, Polydore Plasden, on December 10, 1591.
The next year suffered Thomas Portmore or Pormort,
the son of a Lincolnshire gentleman. He was reconciled
to the Church apparently at the age of twenty, and after
spending a few months at the Seminary at Rheims, in 15 81
he went on to Rome and entered the English College in
May. In 1587, upon the petition of Cardinal Allen, he
was dispensed from the irregularity contracted by heresy
and received Sacred Orders. On account of ill-health,
on March 6, 1588, he left the College and became one of
the household of Dr. Owen Lewis, the Bishop of Cassano.
He subsequently left Rome for the English Mission, and in
159 1 fell into the hands of the persecuting authorities.
Being confined in the Tower, he was cruelly racked, "his
1 Douay Diary, i. p. 243.
I Menology of England and Wales, p. 593.
SAL VETE FLORES MARTYRUM
133
body being all disjointed and his belly broken OJ to make
him disclose the names of those who had assisted and
harboured him. Portmore was condemned and executed
on the double charge of being a priest and of reconciling
one John Barwys to the Church of Rome. He was hanged,
drawn and quartered at St. Paul's Churchyard, February
20, 1592.
The next English College student to carry off the palm
was JosePh Lampton, who was born at Malton in Yorkshire
in 157 0 . He came to Rheims College in September 15 8 4,
and was there five years, setting out for Rome on August
18, 15 8 9. At his request, we are told, his course at the
English College was shortened in order to allow him to
hasten to the harvest of souls in England. He left on
April 22, 1592, and on landing in England was almost
immediately apprehended, cast into prison and tried for
high treason because he was a priest. He suffered a savage
and most horrible butchery at Newcastle-on-Tyne, July
27, 1593, being cut down whilst still alive, and a felon from
the prison, as a ransom for his own life, was appointed to
carry out the barbarous task of disembowelling and quarter-
ing the martyr. In the midst of his barbarous task he was
filled with horror at what he was doing, and refused at all
costs to continue. The sheriff was obliged to seek for another,
whilst the sufferer, still living, with invincible patience and
courage endured a torment that shocked all present. At
length a butcher from a neighbouring village was brought
who completed the ripping up and disembowelling.
Father John Cornelius or Mohun was born of Irish
parents in 1557 at Bodmin in Cornwall. Giving evidence of
great abilities, Sir John Arundel sent him to Oxford, but
his attachment to the Catholic religion made him go over
to Rheims, which he entered September 26, 1579. He was
already prepared for his theology, and so in February 15 80
proceeded to Rome and entered the English College on
April I of that year. He is said to have had exceptional
abilities, and on the feast of St. Stephen, 1581, he was
selected to make an address before the Pope in the Sistine
Chapel. He was ordained priest and left for the Mission
in 1583.
134 THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
Both before and after his arrival in Rome he was remark-
able" for the holiness of his life, his earnest spirit of prayer
and for the many voluntary mortifications he practised: .,
and to these he added when in England, a zealous devotion
to the work of his ministry. He was assiduous in preaching
and catechising, in administering the Sacraments, in his
care of the sick and poor, to whom he refused nothing which
he had to give. He was treacherously arrested in the house
of the widow of Sir John Arundel, and with him three lay-
men, who were the companions of his martyrdom. Father
Cornelius was at first examined at the sheriffs house and
then sent to London, where he appeared before the Lord
Treasurer and the Archbishop of Canterbury, who endeav-
oured both by persuasions and torture to make him betray
his fellow-Catholics. As their efforts were in vain, he was
again conducted to Dorchester to take his trial. The three
days preceding the assizes he spent almost without eating
or sleeping, devoting himself wholly to prayer and exhorta-
tions to his fellow-prisoners. The three laymen were
brought to the bar at the same time. These were" the
Venerable Thomas Bosgrave, a Cornish gentleman, whose
offence was, that when Cornelius was hurried off to prison
he had followed him to offer him his own hat, saying that
such was his respect for his function that he could not see
him carried away bare-headed; the Venerable John Carey
and Patrick Salmon, natives of Dublin, who were appre-
hended for being found in the company of Cornelius, when
he was seized at Lady Arundel's house.
" All were sentenced to death, the priest for high treason
by reason of his character, and his companions for felony
by assisting him: but all were assured that their lives
would be spared, if they would conform to the Protestant
religion. The first to suffer was John Carey, a man of
remarkable courage. He kissed the rope as it was put
round his neck, and exclaimed, I 0 precious collar,' and
then made a profession of his faith. Patrick Salmon, the
next, was greatly beloved for his virtues and before suffering
admonished his friends and all those assenlbled, that the
only way of securing their salvation was to embrace the
Faith for which he died. Thomas Bosgrave, who followed,
SAL VETE FLORES MARTYRUM
135
was a man of reading, and made a speech on the certainty
of the Catholic Faith, which was listened to with attention
and without contradiction on the part of the ministers who
were present.
H Lastly came the turn of Father Cornelius, who first
kissed the feet of his companions hanging on the gallows,
and then saluted the gibbet in the words of St. Andrew:
c Oh, good cross, long desired.' He was not allowed to
address the people, but took the opportunity of announcing
that when in London he had been received into the Society
of Jesus and that his seizure had prevented him going
abroad for his novitiate. After hanging awhile he was cut
down and quartered. II 1 He suffered on July 4, IS94.
To this account may be added some details from his
biography in the Records 5.J.2 cc The head placed at the
top of the gallows crowned the triumph with which Father
Cornelius, quitting the burthen of the flesh, flew joyfully
to his heavenly reward. . . . The martyr's heaà was seen
surrounded with rays of light, whence this precious relic
came into the hands of the Catholics, having been taken
down by order of the magistrates fifteen days after, at the
desire of the people, who had suffered much in their crops
from heavy storms, and remembered that they had already
experienced this visitation on similar occasions."
Another English College martyr in IS94 was John
Ingram. He was the son of a \Varwickshire gentleman
and was brought up a Protestant, being a student of New
College, Oxford. He was, however, reconciled to the Church
and expelled from his College for his recusancy. Upon
this he went abroad, but on his way to Rheims from Douay
he fell, with his companions, into the hands of soldiers. He
managed, however, to escape, and reached Rheims on
October 26, IS82. On April IS, IS83, he went for a tinle
to the Jesuit College at Pont-à-11ousson. He entered the
English Seminary at Rome in 1584, and received the minor
Orders from Bishop Goldwell in the follo\\'Ìng year. He
was ordained priest on December 3, IS89, and left the College
for the English Mission in September 1591. His labours
were in the north of England on the Scottish Border, and
1 Menology, p. 306. 2 Vol. iii. series vii. p. 435.
136 THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
there he was arrested and sent to London. Whilst in the
Tower he was several times submitted to torture in order
to constrain him to betray his fellow-Catholics. As he
maintained complete silence, it was decided to send him
to be tried in the north. His trial was at Durham, and
he was condemned to death at the same time as the martyr
John Bost, but he was executed at Newcastle on July 25,
1594.
On April 7, 1595, died as a martyr at York Father
H enry WalPole, S.J. He was born of a very ancient
family in Norfolk, his parents being pious Catholics, and
having many sons of whom Henry was the eldest, being
born in 1559. He was sent to study at both Oxford and
Cambridge, and then betook himself to London to study
law. He had studied many books of religious controversy,
and was thus enabled to bring not a few into the Church,
which brought him under the notice of the Government
of Queen Elizabeth. In 1582, therefore, he determined to
abandon the legal career, and went to study for the ChurcD,
reaching Rheims on July 7 of that year. On the 2nd of
March of the following year, 1583, he left Rheims for the
English College in Rome, strongly recommended by Dr.
Barret, the Rector. He received the sentence of death
with joy, and suffered on the same day as Father Henry
Rawlins, a student of Rheims, and immediately after him.
They were dragged to the place of execution on the same
hurdle.
Father Robert Southwell,S.]., who became a martyr for
the Faith on February 21, 1595, although not a student of
the English College, was for a time prefect of studies in the
Venerabile and may thus find a place among its martyrs.
Edward Thwing, who suffered martyrdom at Lancaster
on July 26, 1600, was born at Thirsk near York. He studied
at Rheims, and thence went to the English College at Rome
in 1587. He returned to Rheims on account of his health
before his ordination to the priesthood, which he received
at Laon Decenlber 20, 1590, having been appointed to read
philosophy at the College a few months previously. He
subsequently taught Hebrew and Greek. One who was well
acquainted with hinl at this time, describes his piety, meek-
SAL VETE FLORES MARTYRUJl.l
137
ness, patience and spirit of mortification, which caused him
to be much beloved in the College. He suffered from ill-
health, but, being sent over to England, he recovered and
was able to do good work on the Mission. He was arrested
and confined in Lancaster Castle, from which prison he
wrote two letters to the President of Rheims, expressing his
joy at the prospect of his speedy trial and certain con-
demnation for his religion. He was judged to suffer death
for his priesthood, and was executed together with Robert
Nutter, another student of Rheims.
The year 1601 gave another English College student to
the roll of Christian heroes. This was Robert Middleton,
who entered the College in 1597 at the age of twenty-six.
He was born at York and made his early studies at Seville.
He was ordained in Rome and was sent to England on
April 20, 1598. He laboured mostly in Lancashire, where
he was arrested, and being tried, was sent to execution at
Lancaster with a former student of Rheims, the martyr
Thurston Hunt. They were put to death with all the
pena
ties of high treason on l\'Iarch 31, 1601. It is reported
that Robert Middleton as one of those euntes ad mortem
was received into the Society by Father Henry Garnet, S.].,
during his imprisonment in London.
In the following year, 1602, two students of the Vener-
abile gave their lives for the Faith. The first of these was
Robert TYatkinson, alias }IV ilsOll, a native of York. He
was admitted to the English College on October 3 1 , 1599,
and received the minor orders. He went back to Rheims
on account of his bad health, for which reason his ordina-
tion was anticipated and he was made priest in 1602,
going to England in the April of that year. In London,
whilst he was under the care of a physician, he was betrayed
by a false brother and condemned to death. The day
before his apprehension, as he was walking in the street,
he was met by a venerable man who saluted him in the
name of Jesus, and said, "You seem to be troubled with
many infirmities, but be of good cheer, for within four days
all will be over." The circumstance seemed to be miracu-
10us to those who were aware of it, considering how exactly
the prediction was fulfilled. It is also related that, having
138 THE ENGLIS H COLLEGE IN ROME
contrived to celebrate Mass on the morning of his execution.
the server at the altar. who was himself a prisoner for the
Faith. perceived a bright light like a ray of glory playing
about him. till at the time of Communion it rested on his
head, and then disappeared. He suffered the usual cruel
death at Tyburn on April 30. 1602.
With him suffered another student of the College.
Thomas Tichbourne. He was born at Hartley in Hampshire
and went to Douay College in 1584. leaving it to finish his
course at Rome in 1587. He was ordained priest on Ascen-
sion Day 1592, and left for England two years later. He
quickly fell into the hands of the persecuting Government
officials. and for some years suffered imprisonment. till with
the help of a cousin and a friend he managed to escape; his
two abettors being captured and put to death for this deed.
Not long afterwards, betrayed by a fallen priest, Tichbourne
was again captured. brought to trial. and condemned to
death for being a priest. He suffered martyrdom at the
same time and place as Robert Watkinson. In their
company Father Francis Page. S.].. also received the
martyr's palm.
I t was four years after these two that another English
College student was called upon to give the supreme testi-
mony of his blood to the Faith. Edward Oldcorne was a
native of Yorkshire, born about the year 1561. He went
to Rheims for his studies in August 1581. but was sent on
to the English College in Rome in February of the follow-
ing year. He there received Sacred Orders in the month
of August 1587. and passed through Douay on his way to
England on September 26. 1588. He had been received
into the Society of Jesus, before leaving Rome U with a
dispensation from the regular noviceship. in place of which
his labours in the dangers of the Mission were to be counted."
His chief work whilst in England was in Worcestershire,
where, in the winter of 1605. he was seized at Hindlip Castle
with Father Henry Garnett the martyr. his superior,
and with Brothers Nicholas Owen and Ralph Ashley (also
martyrs). He had laboured in the neighbourhood for seven-
teen years with great zeal, and his many escapes from
his persecutors seemed to be miraculous. On the dis-
SAL VETE FLORES MARTYRUM
139
covery of the Gunpowder Plot, Father Garnett was specially
sought for by the King's officers, and was finally discovered
at Hindlip in the same hiding-place as Father Oldcorne.
He denied all knowledge of the conspiracy, and there was no
evidence against him, until Littleton, one of the con-
spirators, in the hope of saving his own life, charged him
with being one of the plotters; which accusation Littleton
afterwards on the scaffold acknowledged to have been
untrue.
In 1610 the Venerable John Roberts suffered death for
his religion. The DOllay Diary states that Mr. John Roberts
came to Rheims in 1583, where he was confirmed and pro-
ceeded to Rome in the August of the same year. He is
entered in the College Diary as being adn1Ïtted to the
Venerabile in that year and receiving minor orders from
Bishop Goldwell. He was ordained priest in 1587, and
then went to the English College at Valladolid, from which
he joined the Spanish Benedictines, being professed at
St. Martin's, Compostella. He returned to England to
labour on the Mission, doing a great work for souls in the
neigh bourhood of London. He was four times arrested,
and as often returned and quietly resumed his former
course of life. At length he was seized for the fifth time
when vested for Mass, and in his sacred vestments was
hurried away to a filthy dungeon. U He was condemned
solely for his priestly character, but might have saved his
life if he would have taken the newly proposed oath." He
suffered at Tyburn December 10, 1610.
Father Oldcorne was sent to Worcester for trial, and
being condemned, suffered for the Catholic Faith, together
with his companion, Brother Ashley, on Redhill, near
\Vorcester, April 7, 1606.
Six years later, viz. in 1612, two more alUl11,ni of the
Venerabile were martyred for their religion. The first was
Richard Smith, or as Bp. Challoner calls him, Richard
Newport. He was born in Northamptonshire in 1572,
and made his early studies at Douay. On September 30,
1595, he was admitted to the English College and was
ordained priest April 10, 1597. He came to England in
1602, and proved to be a zealous missionary. He was one
14 0 THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
among the many priests banished for their religion in 1606
after the Gunpowder Plot, and took this opportunity to
revisit Rome. According to the Pilgrim Book, he arrived
at the Hospice on March 17, 1607, remaining until April
26, and he again returned and made the Spiritual Exercises
for three days. He went <t to pour forth his prayers at
the tombs of the Apostles in behalf of this afflicted Church,"
writes Challoner, "and to obtain of God by their interces-
sion, grace and constancy for himself to fulfil his ministry
among so many difficulties and dangers as he expected to
meet with on his return to England." He managed to
return to his country, but was again caught and again exiled,
only to return once more to the post of danger. On his
arrest for the third time he was kept in prison for seven
months, and when brought to trial he at once owned him-
self to be a priest, but denied all treason to his country,
which he would in no way admit to attach to his priesthood.
His condemnation followed as a matter of course, and the
next day he was brought up, with Father William Scot,
the Benedictine martyr, who had been previously found
guilty, to hear his sentence. The next day, May 30, which
was Whitsun Eve 1612, he was placed on the same hurdle
as the Benedictine and dragged to Tyburn, where the
sentence was carried out after the accustomed barbarous
manner.
The second English College student to win the martyr's
palm in 1612, was John Almond, known on the Mission by
the aliases of M olÙzeux and Lathom. He was born at
Allerton, near Liverpool, and received his early education
at a school in Much W oolton in the same neighbourhood.
At the age of twenty he came to Rome, and entered the
English College on April 14, 1597. After being ordained
he left for England in November 1602. He was arrested
as a priest in 1612, and was examined by Dr. King, the
Protestant Bishop of London. An account of the contro-
versy which took place between them exists in the martyr's
own handwriting. He was sent to Newgate, and some
months later was tried and convicted of high treason, on
the charge of being a priest. On the 5th of December, 1612,
he was dragged to Tyburn for execution. "lIe was allowed
SAL VETE FLORES MARTYRUM
14 1
to speak to the people and distinctly professed his perfect
allegiance to King James, adding that he could not take
the oath on account of the insidious clauses which it con-
tained. After this, followed another controversy with a
minister in which the holy man was able to refute the false
charges brought against him and his religion. He then
ga ve a wa y all the money he possessed to the poor who stood
around and to the executioner. He mentioned the hard
usage he had met with in the dungeon called Little Ease,
but freely forgave all.
" The chief persecutor of this servant of God is said to
have been Dr. King the Bishop, whose life from that time
was one of sorrow, though before his death he sought and
obtained reconciliation with the Church: an extraordinary
grace, which we may well believe was obtained by the
prayers of the martyr."
In 1616 John Thulis, or Thules, an old student of the
Venerabile, suffered n1artyrdom. He was born at Up-
Holland in Lancashire, and came to Rheims in 11ay 1583,
received the tonsure the same year, and left for Rome on
March 27, 1590, being admitted to the English College
on May 8 following. He was ordained in Rome, and on
April 22, 1591, departed for the English :Mission. He was
soon arrested, and for many years was confined at Wis-
beach Castle. Having got out of prison, how or when is
not recorded, he laboured for souls in his own county.
Once during that time he was seized with a dangerous sick-
ness and received the last Sacraments, when he had a revela-
tion, which assured him that he was reserved for a more
glorious death.
By order of the Earl of Derby he was again arrested and
sent to Lancaster Gaol. Whilst there he managed to escape
with his fellow-martyr, Roger 'Vrenno; "but when morn-
ing dawned and they supposed that they were many miles
from the town, they discovered that they were almost
close to the Castle. This satisfied them that it was God's
will that they should suffer.
At the trial Thulis was arrajgned for his priestly
character and functions, and condemned to the penalties
of high treason, and his execution was accordingly carried
142 THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
out on March 18, 1616. Ie Offers were repeatedly made
to spare his life, if he would take King James' oath, which
his conscience would not allow him to do. Several criminals
were executed at the same time, four of whom he had the
consolation of reconciling to God and the Church."
After this, it was not till 1642 that the next College
student received the crown of his life service for God.
This was John Lockwood, or Lascelles. He was the son
of Christopher Lockwood of Soulsby in Yorkshire, and
according to the English College Diary was born in 1565.
He inherited a considerable estate, but determined to devote
himself to the service of God as a missionary priest. He
was admitted to the English College in Rome in 1595, and
was ordained priest January 26, 1597, leaving for England
in 1598. After his return to his native country he was
twice imprisoned for the Faith, and in 1610 was banished.
He returned almost immediately to his labours, but was
again caught, and this time was condemned to death, though
repneved and subsequently released. When he had reached
a very advanced age he was again taken by the pursuivants
at the house of a Mrs. Catenby at Woodend in Yorkshire,
and carried to York. So great was the cruelty with which
the old man was treated on the journey as to call for the
compassionate protest of those who witnessed it. and who
continued to speak about it long afterwards. His priest-
hood being proved against him, the sentence of death fol-
lowed as a matter of course, and he was sentenced to suffer
with Mr. Catherick, a fellow-priest. King Charles I had
granted them a reprieve, but soon withdrew it to satisfy
the clamours of Parliament, and signed the warrant for
their execution, which took place on April 13, 1642, whilst
the King was staying with the Prince of 'Vales at the Manor
in York.
The sheriff had ordered :Mr. Catherick to nlount the ladder
first, but his venerable companion, Father Lockwood, think-
ing that Ie he perceived in his countenance signs of the
natural fear of death, stepped forward and insisted on it,
as the privilege of his years, that the first turn should be
given to himself, and having spoken words of tender
cncouragement to his fellow-martyr and pronounced a
SALVETE FLORES MARTYRUM
143
touching prayer in their common names, offered himself
as the first victim. . . . The sentence was carried out with
more than usual barbarity and the venerable heads of the
martyrs were fixed on different gates of the city. That
of Lockwood was so placed, that the King must have seen
it every time he left the palace, as it was upon the north
gate called Bootham Bar close by."
This same year, 1642, suffered at Tyburn for his religion
Fr. Edward
f organ, or Singleton. He was born at Beltis-
field in the parish of Hanmer, Flintshire, and was a convert
of Father John Bennet, the Apostle of Wales. At the age
of sixteen he was taken into the family of Walter Fowler,
a convert, and brought up with his two sons, one of whom
subsequently became a student of the College. They
frequented a school in Stafford, after which he was sent
by his benefactor to St. Omer's College, coming in 1606
to Rome. He afterwards entered the novitiate of the
Society, but had to leave on account of his health. He
then went to Valladolid and was ordained priest at Sala-
manca, and went to the English Mission. After devoting
some time to his n1issionary duties, he was apprehended,
and passed the last Ie fourteen or fifteen years of his life in
the Fleet prison, where he suffered from want and the
loathsomeness of the place. He was at length brought to
trial and condemned solely because he was a priest. After
the sentence he was visited by many Catholics and non-
Catholics, all of whom were greatly edified by his tranquillity
and holy joy. . . .
Ie The holy man found means to celebrate Mass the day
before his execution; and falling into a sort of ecstasy was
favoured with such sweetness and consolation that it was
with difficulty he could proceed with the sacred rite. This
he imparted to a Jesuit who came to visit him in the course
of the day; and when the same father asked him whether
anything could be done for his comfort, he said that he
had been constrained to contract a debt of f22, which it
would greatly relieve him to have paid. This charitable
man accordingly so exerted himself that he was able to
collect the whole sum by the next day. On that day
(April 26, 1642) the road from the prison to Tyburn was
144
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
crowded with spectators, and it was with difficulty that
the gallows could be approached, and all treated him with
singular respect. He was permitted to speak to the people,
which he did at some length, though often interrupted by
the minister, and took occasion to argue in favour of the
true Church. He gave up his soul to God with great
devotion and joy." 1
The Venerable Briant Cansfield, another College student,
died in 1643, from the ill-treatment he received on account
of his priestly character. He came to the Venerabile at
the age of nineteen, in 1601, and was born at Robert Hall,
Lancashire. In 1604 he entered the Society of Jesus, and
returning to England as a Jesuit missionary, spent many
years in Apostolic labours in the Yorkshire District. He
was seized by the officers of the Crown whilst saying Mass,
cruelly beaten and cast into the prison of York Castle.
He died August 3, 1643, shortly after his discharge, from
the effects of his ill-treatment.
In 1645 Father Henry Morse, alias Claxton, gave the
supreme testimony of his blood to the Faith. He was
born in Norfolk of Protestant parents, but becoming con-
vinced of the claims of the Catholic Church whilst a young
student of law at the Inns of Court, he crossed over to Douay,
where he was received into the Church, and thence went to
Ronle, and was admitted to the English College December
27, 1618. He was ordained at the College, and having
" finished his studies with great proficiency," left for the
English Mission in June 1624- Almost immediately upon
his landing in his native land, he was seized at Newcastle,
and during his imprisonment, which lasted for three years,
was received into the Society of Jesus. He was finally
banished, but returned to England as soon as possible.
During the plague of 1636-7 he took charge of no fewer
than 400 infected families, and was the means of reconcil-
ing many to the Church. After this he was again banished
but once more returned, was caught, and died a martyr's
death at Tyburn, February I, 1645.
John Farrington, or fV oodcock, who was only at the
English College for a short time in 1629, suffered martyrdom
1 Menology, p. 18 3_
SAL VETE FLORES ftJARTYRU...U
145
in Lancashire in 1646. He was born at Leyland, and brought
up at Clayton in Lancashire, his father being a Protestant
and his mother a Catholic. He studied for a year at St.
Omer's when he was about twenty years of age, and was
admitted to the English College on October 20, 1629, but
six months later he returned to France and entered the
Franciscan Order. He received the habit from Father Paul
Heath in 1631, and made his profession in the hands of
Father Francis Bell, both of whom were subsequently
martyrs. For a time he remained at Douay, but on hearing
of the martyrdom of Father Paul Heath in 1643, Wood-
cock was fired with the wish to proceed to England himself.
This was allowed him, and he landed at Newcastle with the
intention of making his way to Lancashire; but the very
first night he was seized as a priest and committed by a
magistrate to Lancaster Castle. He had to wait for two
years for his trial, and suffered greatly from the austerities
of his prison. He was condemned on his own confession
of his priestly character, together with two priests his
companions, the Rev. Edward Bamber, alias Reading,
and Thomas Whittaker, and he was executed on the follow-
ing day, August 7, 1646. The circumstances attending his
execution were singularly cruel and indicative of the time.
Being flung off the ladder, the rope broke, and he fell to
the ground perfectly sensible: he was ordered to be drawn
up again, and the second time was cut down and butchered
alive.
Father ] ohn tVall was the son of a Lancashire gentle-
man, who sent him when young to be educated at Douay
College. He came to the English College in Rome in 16 4 1 ,
and was ordained priest December 3, 1645. He became a
Franciscan in 1651, and arrived in England in 1654, where
for twelve years he laboured on the missions in Worcester-
shire. He was seized during the Oates Plot at the house
of Mr. Finch, near Bromsgrove. Refusing to take the con-
demned oath of supremacy, he was committed to Worcester
Gaol in December 1678. His trial took place at the Summer
Assizes, and being condemned for his priesthood was hanged
at Redhill, near Worcester, on August 22, 1679.
In the previous year, 1678, Edmund f.lico, alias Baines,
L
14 6
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROIIJE
died in prison for the Faith. He was admitted to the
College as a convictor in r647- In r648 he took the oath
and received minor orders, but left the Venerabile on
March 28, r650, for Watten, to be admitted into the Society
of Jesus. After labouring on the English Mission with
great fruit, he was marked out as a special victim in the
Oates Plot. He was arrested, whilst ill in bed, by Oates
in person accompanied by a band of soldiers, at the house of
the Spanish Ambassador, to whom he acted as Chaplain.
He received severe injuries, inflicted by blows of the soldiers'
muskets, and when he was able to be removed he was thrust
into prison at Newgate. Here he died from his sufferings
about December 3, r678, being found dead upon his knees,
oppressed by the weight of his irons.
David Lewis, generally known as Charles Baker, was
the son of Mr. Morgan Lewis, Master of the Royal Grammar
School, Abergavenny. His mother was a Catholic, and
David was reconciled to the Church at the age of nineteen.
Two years later he entered the English College in Rome
and received the minor orders on July 20, r642, he was
ordained priest and joined the Jesuits in r645. He was
sent on the English Mission the following year, but was
soon recalled to Rome to fill the post of Spiritual Father
in his old College. He returned to his missionary work in
r648, and for twenty-eight years he "zealously toiled in
those rough missions" of the South Wales District, " visit-
ing the persecuted Catholics by night and always making
his circuits on foot. His paternal affection to the poor
was so great, that he was commonly styled the I Father of
the Poor.''' On November r7, r678, he was captured whilst
preparing to offer up the Holy Mass, committed to Usk
Gaol, brought to trial for his priesthood at the Monmouth
Spring Assizes, and executed at Usk August 27, r679.
CHAPTER VII
CONFESSORESQUE LUCIDI
IN addition to those who gave the supreme testimony, by
laying down their lives for their religion, the English College
during the first years of its existence furnished a goodly
number of Confessors of the Faith to the Church. The
students went forth from the Venerabile with all the courage
of heroes, in the expectation, if not of receiving the martyr's
crown, at least of suffering persecution and hardships in
the exercise of their ministry to the persecuted Catholics
of England. Many of them had, even before coming to
the College, experienced the rigours of imprisonment and
even of torture inflicted upon their youthful bodies for the
sole reason of their being determined to practise the religion
of their forefathers. Several, too, had been captured by
heretics even when they had escaped from England and
were on their way to Rome to study for the priesthood, and
they had been cast into prison and had been made to undergo
privations of every kind for their religion, before they had
escaped from the hands of their persecutors. Thus they
came to the Venerabile already Confessors for conscience'
sake, and they brought with them the spirit of men, who
had already proved their will if necessary to die for their
religion. We have the testimony of those who ruled them
in those early days, that, as a body, the alumni of the
venerable English College were animated solely by a desire
to prepare themselves for the perilous mission before them.
Many of them, as we have seen, sacrificed their lives in
this cause. :Many more found themselves in prison, and
were made to suffer torments and even tortures for it.
Some were seized almost on their landing in their na ti ve
country; others after having been hunted by priest-catchers
from place to place, and denounced by spies and false
147
14 8 THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
brethren. Thus they lived ever in peril of capture, which
they a voided more from their desire to serve the poor
Catholic people of England, who were in dire need of the
consolations of religion, than from any wish to escape from
the hands of those who sought their lives.
An examination of the Diary of the English College
reveals the fact that the number of these Confessors of the
Faith was hardly less than a hundred. Probably it was
considerably more, since our records of the lives of the
priests, who went from the College to England, chiefly
relate to those who, either in Rome after they had finished
their course or subsequently, entered the Society of Jesus.
The Jesuit Superiors of the College had naturally the oppor-
tunity of gathering information concerning their own men,
which they did not possess in the case of those who remained
seculars. With regard to the latter, therefore, their heroism
in the face of persecution is known only to God; but it is
only reasonable to suppose that the same spirit which
animated the Jesuit Fathers, would likewise animate the
secular missionaries, since they had both imbibed it in
their student days at the English College.
Though it would occupy too much space in a history of
the College to detail all the instances of the sufferings short
of death endured by old alumni of the Venera bile, some
examples may be given in these pages.
It was in 1580 that, as we have already seen, the first
band, consisting of twenty-eight missioners, was dispatched
to England. Of these six became nlartyrs. Of the rest
Richard Haydock, brother of George Haydock subse-
quently martyred, suffered imprisonment for the Faith, but
did not receive the crown. Subsequently he died in Rome
in 1605 and was buried in the old College church.
His will is still preserved in the College Archives (Chron.,
vol. vi. p. 341). It is written on two foolscap sheets.
He "commends his soul to the Most Holy Trinity, the Blessed
Virgin Mary, St. :Michael the Archangel, his patron, and to
all the Court of Heaven. He directs that his body be
buried at the entrance to the altar of our Lady in the Church
of the English College, to which after certain legacies he
b
queaths the residue of his property. He wishes that a
CONFESSORESQUE LUCIDI
149
marble slab be placed upon his grave, with his name and
degree carved upon it."
Another of his companions, Martin A rray, escaped at
first, but in 1586 was captured and cast into prison. He
was set at liberty by means of a money payment, escaping
the supreme penalty, and, as it is said, f{ had favour to be
banished," though he remained and worked as a priest in
the north of England.
A third of the first band of missioners was Jonah M ere-
dith. He had been ordained at Douay, and went to England
in 1576, where he was captured and sent to prison as a
priest. He was, however, released and escaped abroad to
Douay, whence he went to Rome as a theological student
on the first foundation of the College. He returned to the
English Mission in 1580, and managed to escape capture
till 1585, when he was seized by the priest-hunters, im-
prisoned and banished. He returned for the third time,
and was again caught, and was in the Gatehouse Prison,
Westminster, in 1587.
The fourth member of the body of missioners leaving
Rome in 1580 was Leonard Hyde. He had come as a
priest, like Jonas Meredith, to Rome in 1579, and had left
it in 1580. He escaped capture at first, and we find, accord-
ing to the Pilgrim Book, that he accompanied Sir Geoffrey
Pole and his son, with their attendant, Peter Hyde, a brother
of the priest, on a pilgrimage to Rome in 1582. Returning
to England in 1583, he was captured as a priest and was
still imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1585. In 15 8 6-7
he is entered as f{ a bad fellow " in the list of prisoners in
Newgate. He was removed to Wisbeach dungeons, and
was there in 1591. In 1603 he was renloved to Framling-
ham Gaol, and banished the kingdom on the accession of
James I.
William Harrison, the third and last Archpriest
was
one of the band of forty-six priests who were sent to England,
of whom the names of thirteen are to be seen on the list
of martyrs. He is said in the College Diary to have been
imprisoned for his religion, but the details are wanting.
Another of the glorious band of missioners which set
out in 1581 was Edward RishtoJl, a native of Lancashire,
15 0
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROJIE
who was tried and condemned to death with Father Edmund
Campion. He was reprieved and suffered imprisonment in
the Tower of London till his banishment from England in
15 8 5. He wrote the valuable U Diary of Events in the
Tower," and also contributed a supplement to Sander's
History of the English Schism. He died an exile for the
Faith on June 29 of the same year, 1585.
A rthur Pitt was also sent to the English Mission in 1581,
and very shortly after his arrival was seized and confined
for his religion in the Tower, where he and George Haydock,
the martyr, are described as U little men of great courage."
He was banished with many other priests from this prison
in 1585, and in 1596 is said to have been in Lorraine.
William Thedder came to the College in Rome from
Douay at the age of twenty-two, and after his ordination
left for the English Mission on November 13, 1582. Dr.
Barret, writing from Rheims, March 13, 1583, to Father
Agazzari, the Rector of the English College, speaks of him
as being then in prison for the Faith. He was probably
the William Cedder whom Challoner names in the list of
priests exiled from their dungeons in January 1585.
William Bishop went to England in 1582, and after
suffering a painful imprisonment for his priesthood was
banished in 1585, but returned at once to his missionary
labours. According to Dodd, he was a son of John Bishop
of Brayles, Warwickshire. Though a Catholic, he was sent
to Oxford in 1570. Subsequently he came to the English
College in Rome, where he was ordained. He then pro-
ceeded to the Mission. At some time, possibly during his
banishment, he took his degree of D.D. at Paris, and on
June 4, 162 3, was consecrated Bishop of Chalcedon for
England, and arrived in that country on July 31. He was
constrained to live in London very quietly, because of the
Government persecution of Catholics, and died at Bishop's
Court, near London, on April 16, the year after his arrival.
ChristoPher Thulis, or Thules, came to the English
College at the age of nineteen, and was sent to the Mission
in 1585. He was soon captured by the persecutors, and
was in the Gatehouse Prison, Westminster, in the following
year. He was probably an elder brother of another Engljsh
CONFESSORESQUE LUCIDI
I5I
College student, John Thulis, who suffered martyrdom at
Lancaster in 1616.
John Bolton, a fellow-student in Rome of the last-named
Confessor for the Faith, went with him to England in 1585.
He was seized and incarcerated in Wisbeach Castle, and in
a subsequent list of priests in London prisons "mete for
banishment," John Bolton's name appears as being in the
Marshalsea with seventeen other priests.
RalPh Bickley entered the College in 1579 at the age of
twenty-two. He was a native of Hampshire. He went on
the English Mission in April 1589. He spent most of his
life in various prisons, and, probably about the end of 1597,
was received into the Society of Jesus. In 1618, at the
intercession of the Spanish Ambassador he was released
fron1 confinement and taken by him as an exile with several
other Jesuit Fathers to the Continent, where he shortly
afterwards died, probably by reason of his long imprison-
ment endured for the Faith.
Thomas Lister was a student in the College for six years,
and, after his ordination, with the licence of the Cardinal
Protector he joined the Jesuits in 1583. He was a fellow-
novice of Father Vitelleschi, afterwards General of the
Society. He was a brilliant student, and in August 1581
publicly defended theses in philosophy, and in 1592 won his
doctor's cap at Pont-à-Mousson. He laboured in England
in the company of Father Edward Oldcorne the martyr,
in the Worcester District. He was arrested, imprisoned
and subsequently banished from England with forty-five
other priests in 1606.
William Smith, who came from Yorkshire, entered the
Venerabile in 1579. After his ordination he was sent on
the English Mission, in September 1581, together with forty-
six other priests, thirteen of whom gave their lives for the
Faith. He was captured and was sent from prison into
banishment in 1585 with many other priests, but ventured
to return again in 1590 at the risk of his life.
John Tippets, a youth, was already a Confessor for the
Faith when he entered the English College in 1580. He
was a native of Cornwall, and was seized for his known
adherence to the old religion in London in 1579. He was
15 2
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
brought before the Protestant Bishop of London. who was
unable to shake his constancy. Whereupon. as is noted in
a letter in the Douay Diary. It the Bishop and Recorder.
being outrageously moved against him, contrary to all law
and justice. condemned him to be whipped at the cart's
tail and to be bored through the ear with a hot iron." The
sentence was executed and borne with exemplary patience.
He was imprisoned in Newgate until :May the 18th. when he
regained his liberty. and pass;ng through Ðouay. reached
Rome early in 1580. After his ordination at the College
in 1584, he entered the Carthusian Order and died in religion.
ChristoPher Southworth entered the College at the same
time as the last-named (1580). and was ordained priest by
Bishop Goldwell in 1583. He was the son of a noble Con-
fessor for the Faith. Sir John Southworth. and the brother
of the martyr John Southworth. who suffered at Tyburn
June 28. 1654. He was sent on the English Mission in
1586. and was apprehended as a priest almost immediately
after reaching the country. He appears in the Counter
Prison in 1587, and was thence transferred to the dungeons
of Wisbeach Castle. In 1598 he was removed to the Gate-
house Prison. Westminster.
Oswald Tesi1nond entered the Venerabile as a youth of
seventeen years in 1580. and after his ordination. by leave
of the Cardinal Protector Morone he entered the Society
of Jesus in 1584. He landed in England in March 1598.
and for eight years assisted Fr. Oldcorne. the martyr. in his
missionary labours. He was falsely accused of complicity
in Cecil's Gunpowder Plot. but escaped ca pture in a vic-
tualling boat to Calais. He died at Naples in 1635.
Philip Woodward. born in the diocese of Norwich. was
admitted to the English College in 1581 with several other
students. two of whom subsequently were crowned with
martyrdom. He was ordained in the College chapel by
Bishop Goldwell in 1583, but. being a student in theology
and languages. did not proceed to the English Mission till
1595. In 1606 he was sent into banishment with forty-six
other priests taken out of various dungeons in the country.
He retired to Douay. and became Professor of Hebrew and
Controversy. He is probably the priest mentioned in
CONFESSORESQUE LUCIDI
153
Father Gerard's autobiography where he says: It I gave
the spiritual exercises to some others in that house before
I gave it up, among whom was a pious and good priest
named Woodward, who also found a vocation to the Society,
and afterwards passed into Belgium with the intention of
entering it; but as there was a great want of English priests
in the army at the time, he was appointed to that work,
and died in it, greatly loved and reverenced by all." He
was the author of several anonymous pieces of controversy,
and his death is said to have occurred at Lyons in 1610.
] ohn Green came to the College in 1581, but after a year
his health broke down and he was transferred to Rheims,
where he was ordained in 1585 and was sent to England at
once. He was soon arrested, and was in the Counter Prison
in 1586, whence he was removed to the dungeons of Wis-
beach Castle. A spy describes him at Wisbeach as It a
Seminary priest, a very obstinate perverse man and a
traitorous seducer of Her Majesty's subjects, and a great
defender of the Pope's Supremacy." He was probably
sent from Wisbeach to Framlingham Prison.
Thomas Stanney was ordained at the College in 1585,
and left for the English :Mission in June 15 86 . In 1597 he
entered the Society of Jesus, and, two years later, was again
sent to England. In 1603, whilst acting as chaplain to the
Countess of Arundel, he was seized and imprisoned in the
Gatehouse, Westminster. In 1606, with forty-six other
priests, he was banished. The martyr, Swithun Wells, Esq.,
who was savagely murdered opposite his own door in
Holborn, near Gray's Inn, London, on December 10, 159 1 ,
was his friend and penitent. Father Stanney died at St.
Omer's College, May z8, 1617. It A man adorned with
every virtue."
William Wright was a youth of eighteen years when he
came to Rome in 1581. He never took the mission oath,
and very shortly after his admission became a Jesuit. He
became a Doctor of Divinity, and for many years taught
Philosophy and Theology at Vienna and Gratz. After
twenty years he went to labour in England, and in 1606
was captured at Hengrave Hall by the persecutors. He
was cast into the White Lion Prison, in London, from which
154 THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
he subsequently escaped, and laboured for many years on
the mission of Leicester, dying January 18, 1639.
William Chaddock was admitted to the Venerabile in
1582, and having been ordained in 1586, was sent to Eng-
land. He was forthwith taken and confined in Wisbeach
Castle. On the accession of James I in 1603, he was
removed to Framlingham Prison and thence sent into
banishment.
Oliver Almond, who came to the College with the last-
named and received Holy Orders in 1587, proceeded later
to England by way of Spain. He was hunted for by the
Government officials, and had to have recourse to many
expedients to evade capture. In a report by Robert
Weston, a Government spy, it is said: U Item, Olivar
Almon is a prest, and did leye at :Mr. Wynchcombe in
Barkshire, nere Newbery, the name is Henwicke. Yf he
be not in the hoose, there is a grat (tree) wherein he is
hyden; hee is a lette man." In another part of the report
we read: II As you go forth of :Mr. Wynchcombe's house
towards Newberry, in the first close withoute the gate,
upon the lefte hand in the heg-row, there is a grat oake
that is hollow, and be knocking upon it you shall fynd it
to sounde. . . ."
Edll'lund Calverly was ordained at the College in 1585,
and left for England the same year. He is named in the
Douay Diary as a youth of high family, who accompanied
Mr. Vavasour from England to Douay September 29, 158r.
In 1586-7 he was among the prisoners in Wisbeach Castle.
William Bawden (or Baldwin) came to the College in
1583, and, after his ordination in 1588, he entered the
Society of Jesus. Before coming to Rome, he had studied
for five years at Oxford, and subsequently at Rheims,
where his master was the future martyr, Father Cornelius.
He was an heroic sufferer for his religion, was cruelly tor-
tured, and spent many years in the Tower of London. He
died at St. Omer's on September 28, 1632.
Richard Dudley, a native of Westmoreland, came to the
English College at the same time as the last-named, and,
being ordained with him, left for the English Mission in
15 8 9. He is mentioned in the Jesuit Records as being
CONFESSORESQUE LUCIDI
155
among the number of priests betrayed and arrested by the
apostate' Atkinson. I< Having many solicitors in his behalf
he was soon and secretly released."
Robert Gray, of the diocese of Durham, came to the College
at the age of twenty-two in October 1584, and received
Sacred Orders in November 1586, being sent into England
the following year. He is named in a schedule of Recusants
who are at large, signed by Grindall, Bishop of London, and
other I< Commissioners," and in another list he is noted as
I< Robert Gray, priest, much supported at Sir Thomas
Fitzherbert's and now wandering (about Staffordshire and
Lancashire very seditiously). A man meet to be looked
to." In 1593 he is reported as being in custody and under
examination.
A rthur Stafford, who came to the College in 1585, and
was ordained in November 1586, went to England in Sep-
tember 1588. In r637 he was confined in the Gatehouse,
Westminster, having been tracked by the Government spies
and pursuivants employed for the purpose of I< the arrest,
condemnation and execution of priests and Jesuits."
Robert Tempest, of the diocese of Durham, came to
Rome in 1585, but left, before his ordination in October
1589, for Rheims, where he was ordained in 1591. He was
in Paris in 1590, where apparently he took his degree as
Doctor of Divinity. In 1600 he went to the English
Mission and was seized as a priest in 1612. After passing
two years in prison he was released on bail and allowed
to live with his brother-in-law in Hampshire on parole.
In 1624 he became a Jesuit, and died in Hampshire July 13,
16 4 0 .
Richard Banks, after finishing his studies at the English
College, was ordained priest in 1592, and proceeded to
England in 1594. Dr. Oliver states that I< he was one of
the tumultuous faction in the English College, Rome, but
that upon going to the English Mission, he was so cap-
tivated with the charity, meekness and patience of the
good Fathers of the Society, that to repair his fault he
humbly sought admission amort them." He became the
con1panion of Fr. Oldcorne, the martyr, and was Rector
of the house at Clerkenwell at the time of its seizure by
156 THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
the pursuivants by order of the Privy Council in l628, when
with other Jesuit Fathers and Brothers he was made a
prisoner. After a long imprisonment endured for the Faith,
his constitution was so undermined that he was sent to
Belgium, and died at Ghent March l4, l643.
Edward Cole came to Rome from Rheims as a subdeacon,
was ordained at the College, and left for England in l590.
In a list of priests and Jesuits captured by the pursuivants
from l640 to l65l, his name appears among those (( indicted,
proved and sent beyond the sea."
George Smith was ordained priest at the College on
December 3, l5 8 9. The Douay Diary states that in l584
he arrived at Rheims, that he was a skilful musician, and
was sent on to Rome in l587. In l603-8 in an inquisition
before the Lord Chief Baron and Justice Fenner, as to
recusants in the County of Devon, .. one Smith, a seminary
priest, was convicted of treason and one Richard Eveleighe
convicted of felony, 'for maintaining and relieving him, and
they both are reprieved, and so remain in prison."
Edward Coffin, alias Hatton, was a native of Exeter, born
in l570. He came to the College in l588, and was sent into
England May lO, l594. In l598 he petitioned to join the
Society of Jesus, and was on his way to pass his novitiate
in Belgium when he was seized by the Dutch at Lillo
near Antwerp, and sent back to England. He was im-
prisoned and passed his novitiate and the first five years
of his religious life in prison, first in Newgate and then at
Framlingham Castle, when he was banished the country
in l603. He subsequently spent twenty years in Rome as
Confessor of the English College. At the end of this time
he begged to be sent back again to the English Mission,
but died on his way, at St. Omer's, April l7, l626.
Henry Pugh was already a Confessor of the Faith when
he came to the College in l589 at the age of twenty-six.
Dodd, quoting Bridgewater's Concertatio and the Douay
Diaries, writes of him: (( Henry Pugh, a gentleman of
Flintshire, who being committed prisoner to the county
gaol for recusancy, suffered very much both before and
after the year l584. He was several times put to the rack,
till he became speechless and almost senseless, and as he
CONFESSORESQUE LUCIDI
157
came to himself the trial was renewed. Several ensnaring.
questions were proposed to him. Who reconciled him?
What priest he was acquainted with? What houses he
frequented? etc. But no satisfactory answer could be
obtained frOln him, being encouraged by the example of
Mr. Bennett, a zealous priest, prisoner in the same gaol.
:Mr. Pugh, being brought to trial, was acquitted." After
his acquittal he probably escaped at once to Rheims.
Henry Pugh died at the College August 10, 1592, having
been allowed to take the simple vows of the Society by the
Father-General a few years before.
] ohn Percy was ordained priest at the College on March 10,
1593, and went a year later to Flanders to become a Jesuit.
Whilst a student he showed conspicuous abilities, and de-
fended publicly all the theses of Theology. He was reputed
a very learned man, and became a celebrated controver-
sialist. He held a famous dispute on religion with Dr.
Fealty and others before King James I, and received into
the Church the Countess of Buckingham, her son Viscount
Purbeck, and many other members of distinguished families
during his Apostolic missionary labours. He also convinced
the unhappy Chillingworth of the truth of the Catholic
religion, and was the means of his becoming a Catholic.
During the course of his nlÌnistry he endured long im-
prisonments for his Faith, and died in London December 3,
16 4 1 .
John Yate was admitted to the English College in 1590,
and after a year went to Rheims for his ordination. He
left for England in the same year, 1591, and is believed to
be the same priest who is named in the Fasti of the Society
for the year 1624. "John Yate, a priest, a septuagenarian,!
was admitted into the Society in articulo mortis, having
exhibited to all, both as a freeman and as a prisoner for
the Faith, an example of modesty and piety."
Edward Tempest entered the Venerabile at the same
time as the last-named, and was ordained :March 19, 1594,
but did not go to England until 1597. 'fwo years later
he was already a prisoner in the Clink, London, as appears
1 He is stated to have been forty-one when he entered the College in
1590, and so would have been seventy-five in 1624.
15 8 THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROl'
lE
from a list of prisoners in that year, and from a letter
\"Titten to the Archpriest Blackwell from that prison on
January 15, 1590. He had been captured ten days before
by the apostate Sacheverall.
Francis Montford at the age of twenty-four was admitted
to the College in 1590, and having received Sacred Orders,
was sent to the English :Mission in 1592. Dodd in his
Church History states that" Francis l\lonford, a missionary
priest, educated in the English College, Rome, was tried,
condemned to death and suffered at London, 1592." Dr.
Worthington's Catalogue of Martyrs is his authority, but
his name does not appear in Bishop Challoner's Memoirs.
Sylvester Norris was a native of Somerset, and came to
Rome in 1590. After completing his theological studies
and taking his degree of D.D., he left for England in 1596.
He was arrested in the Cecil Gunpowder Plot, and was
committed to Bridewell, but was subsequently released
and sent into banishment with forty-six other priests in
1606. He proceeded to Rome, and was there received into
the Society of Jesus, returning subsequently to the English
Mission. He was one of the disaffected scholars in 1596,
and was probably transferred to Douay in consequence of
Cardinal Sega's Report. He served the English Mission
with great zeal, was much esteemed as a preacher, and
wrote several controversial works. He died March 16, 1630.
] ohn Floyd was a fellow-student of the last-named, and
took the oath with Henry Clithero, son of the glorious
martyr Margaret Clithero, in 1590. Two years later, with
leave of the Cardinal Protector he joined the Jesuits, and
was certainly at work in England before 1605; for in that
year, going by stealth to visit the martyr Father Oldcome
in the condemned cell in Worcester Gaol, he was discovered
and detained in prison for a year, after which he was
banished with forty-six other priests in 1606. He finally
became Professor of Theology at Louvain, and died suddenly
at St. Omer's September 16, 1649.
HumPhrey Sicklemore was admitted to the College in
1591. In 1603 he was in England and in prison as a priest
at Framlingham Castle. John Healey, a servant of Launcelot
Carnaby, Esq., in his evidence against him, states "that
CONFESSORESQUE LUCIDI
159
he had been present at many l\lasses with the said Launcelot
Carnaby, his master, at his house at Halton, Northumber-
land, since Michaelmas last; which :Masses were said some-
times by Sicklemore, the priest, sometimes by one Southern,
a priest, and one by Father Holtby, a Jesuit, and divers
times both heard Mass at the house of Robert Errington,
of Limell, Northumberland, where Sicklemore was ordinarily
entertained." Father Sicklen10re is included in the list of
priests sent into banishment on the accession of James I.
Francis Robinson was the son of John Robinson of
Fernsby, Yorkshire, who, on becoming a widower, entered
the ecclesiastical state, and, being ordained priest at Rheims,
was sent to England. He was seized at the port at which
he landed, and being tried and condemned for his priest-
hood, suffered at Ipswich October I, 1588. His son Francis
came to the College in 1592, and after his ordination was
sent to England in 1597. He was soon discovered and
arrested, and seen1S to have remained in prison till his
banishment in 1603. He went to Douay, but quickly
returned to his work for souls in England. He is recorded
as "a seminary priest in the Durham district in 1632."
[iugh lVitoff was admitted to the College in 1593. He is
named as one of the disaffected students and was in con-
sequence sent to Douay, where he was ordained in 1599.
In the list of forty-seven priests banished from various
prisons in 1606, the name of Hugh Whitall appears, and
Br. Foley says this" is no doubt the same person."
Thomas Cornforth, who is described in the Diary as
having" always behaved admirably in the College," was
ordained priest in 1597, and was sent to England two years
later. He entered the Society of Jesus whilst on the lVlission
in 1600. Becoming chaplain to the Vaux family, he was
captured at the altar whilst saying Mass and imprisoned.
He died at Liége May 14, 1640.
Thomas Hill arrived in Rome in February 1593 from
Rheims. He was ordained in 1594 and sent to the English
Mission in 1597. He is named in the Records S.]. as
ha ving been U seized in a search in London by Sir Anthony
Ashley, one of the cletks of the Council, aided by the
apostate Atkinson" (1602). He is considered by Br. Foley as
160
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
being the same person mentioned by Dodd as U an eminent
minister of the Church of England, and D.D., who, becoming
a Catholic towards the latter end of Queen Elizabeth's
reign, made his motives public in a written book, A Quarter-
nion of Reasons, 1604. Several pens were taken up against
his work, anlong others by George Abbot, afterwards
Archbishop of Canterbury." Bishop Challoner states in
his Memoirs that he was a D.D. and a Benedictine monk,
and that he was condemned to death in 1612 for being a
priest. He was, however, reprieved and died at Douay in
16 44.
William J\T aylor came to Rome from Rheims in 1594.
Dodd, writing from a MS. in his hands, says, U that William
Naylor was a gentleman of considerable fortune, who
being much reduced by the severity of the penal laws,
and, his wife being dead and his children settled, went
abroad, was ordained priest in due time, and returned to
England. He was arrested when exercising the functions
of his office, committed prisoner to Newbury, and after-
wards indicted at Reading Assizes for endeavouring to
convert a lady to the Calholic Faith, and likewise for refusing
to take the condemned oath of allegiance and supremacy.
Upon the first charge he was acquitted, but kept in custody
on the second. Being sent up to London, he was detained
in confinement for two years, when, making his escape,
he went to Flanders and was alive in 1630 at Ghent."
Thomas Flint came to Rome in 1596, and was obliged
to remain for three months as a pilgrim before being ad-
mitted to the College, on account of the absence of the
Cardinal Protector. He was ordained priest in 1600. He
was sent from Rome to teach theology in 1602, but, being
in bad health, he was allowed to proceed to England in
1603. He is named among the forty-six priests banished
in 1606. He became a Jesuit in 1621, and was again
arrested for his Faith after that date. According to the
A nnual Letters, U he had suffered a long and rigorous
incarceration, and from the cold and the very narrow limits
of his cell, he suffered severely in his linlbs and partially lost
the use of the lower extremities." He died in the Suffolk
District December 28, 1638.
CONFESSORESQUE LUCIDI
IbI
] olm Worthington came to Rome from the seminary of
Seville with Father Parsons in 1597. He took the College
oath, but joined the Jesuits in 1598. He was the son of
Richard Worthington, Esq., who died a Confessor for the
Faith in 1590, and was the nephew of Dr. Worthington, the
President of Douay College, a relative of Cardinal Allen.
He suffered much for the Catholic religion, and died a
prisoner on parole January 25, 16 4 8 .
Thomas Rand was twenty years of age when he came to
the English College in 1597. On finishing his Philosophical
course he joined the Jesuits. He subsequently was sent
to England, and about 1607, having been seized as a priest,
he was examined by the Archbishop of Canterbury, and
committed to Newgate. He died August 4, 1657.
Francis Holland was admitted to the College in 1598,
and received the sacred priesthood in 160 3. It He was
always modest," says the Diary, It but rather too good
friends with the disobedient." He went to the English
Mission in 1605, and afterwards joined the Society in
1609. In 1648 he was captured, tried, and condemned to
death for his priesthood, but the sentence was commuted
to banishment for life. He died at Liége February 29,
1 6 5 6 .
Francis Young was a convert of Father Edward Old-
come, the martyr, who after an education at Eton and
Oxford, came to the English College in Rome in 1598. He
recei ved all the Sacred Orders the following year, and
joined the Society soon after in 1600. He suffered many
imprisonments for the Faith. Amongst others he was in
the Gatehouse, Westminster, where his fellow-prisoner was
Father Laurence Worthington. They were banished to-
gether in 1618. Francis Young ventured to return, and
continued to labour for the salvation of souls until his
death, :March 30, 1633.
Nicholas Hart, a former student at Westminster and
Oxford, entered the English College, Rome, in 1598. He
was ordained priest in 1603, leaving for the Mission the
fonowing year, when he became a Jesuit. He was seized
and accused of complicity in the Gunpowder Plot and was
sent into banishment. He returned to England and was
M
162 THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
apparently captured a second time, and again banished in
1612. He died in England July 27, 1650.
Henry Chadcrdon was born at Southsea Castle, which
belonged to his father. He became a convert to the Faith
through the influence of Brother Thomas Pounde, who was
afterwards his constant guide and spiritual director. He
asked to be admitted into the Society of Jesus as a
brother, but, by the advice of Father Parsons, then Rector of
the English College, Rome, he came to Rome and entered
the Venerabile in 1599, when he was forty-seven years of
age. He received the priesthood in 1601, and was sent to
England the following year. He was captured shortly
after his arrival, and his name appears in the list of forty-
six priests and Jesuits, banished from the various English
prisons in 1606.
] ohn Falkner, coming to the College in May 1600, was
ordained priest in December 1603. The following year he
entered the Society of Jesus, and went to the English
Mission in 1607. He appears among the twelve Jesuits who
were sent into banishment in 1618, but he returned and is
noted among the priests and Jesuits in or about London
in 1624. Father Falkner was chaplain at Wardour Castle
during its siege and gallant defence by Blanche Lady
Arundell in 1643, and drew up the tern1S for its honourable
capitulation.
Thomas More was admitted to the College in 1601 at the
age of fifteen, and was ordained priest in 1609. At the be-
ginning of May 1610 he left for England, and there entered
the Society. He was a great-grandson of Blessed SirThomas
More. In England he was seized, imprisoned and con-
demned to be banished for life, and was probably among
the sixty priests banished in 1618. He died at Ghent
January 2, 1623.
Briant Cansfield, alias Christoþher Benson, came to Rome
with the last-named, Thomas More, and with him received
the minor orders. In 1604, before becoming a priest, he
joined the Jesuits. On going to the English Mission, he
spent many years in the Yorkshire District, where he was
seized when at the altar saying Mass. He was cruelly
beaten and cast into the dungeons of York Castle. He
CONFESSORESQUE LUCIDI
16 3
died shortly after his discharge from the effects of the ill-
treatment he had there received, on August 3, 1643.
lohn Starkey came to Rome in 1601, and was admitted
to the College at the age of thirty-one, and was ordained
priest in July 1602. He was sent to the English i\Iission
in 1603, and was evidently seized and imprisoned for the
Faith before 1606, as he was one of the forty-six priests
who were banished in that year.
Edward Williamson took the College oath on June IS,
1603, and was ordained in June 1605. He left for England
in September 1608, and in 1617 entered the Society of Jesus.
He was one of the Jesuit Fathers seized at Clerkenwell by
the Privy Council pursuivants in 1628. He died at St.
Omer's, after working for twenty-one years in England, on
l\1:arch 19, 1649. In his replies to the usual questions put to
scholars on entering the College, Father Williamson said that
he had gone to school at Woolton until advised by Father
Gerard to go to Doua y. Being arrested and imprisoned
on his way there, he returned home for a time, but again
started for Douay, where he was received by Dr. Worthing-
ton, the President, who afterwards sent him to Rome.
lohn Felton, really Grosse, entered the College in 1603,
and received the priesthood in 1606. He was a convert to
the Faith through his visits to the Catholic priests incar-
cerated in Wisbeach Castle. He became a Jesuit in 1610
whilst serving on the English Mission, and his name appears
in a list of priests and Jesuits sent to Dover for trans-
portation in February 1620. During the civil wars he was
captured by the Parliamentary forces, and cast into prison
for an attempt to visit Father John Hudd, a prisoner
awaiting his trial in Lincoln Prison. Father Felton died
shortly after his release had been purchased by some friends,
on February 27, 1645.
lohn Sweet was admitted to the College as a student in
1602. He left for a time in 1606 to settle some private
affairs, but returned, and was ordained priest in 1608. The
following year he became a Jesuit, and was for a while
Penitentiary at St. Peter's. <<He lived in the College with
great edification to the scholars and spiritual help to people
coming here (i. e. Rome), of whom he drew many to the
164 THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
Catholic Faith, and disposed many favourably for accepting
it. He did good work for souls when he went on the Eng-
lish l\lission. He was captured at Exeter in November
r62r, and committed to prison there, whence he was sent
up to London to be a prisoner in the Gatehouse, West-
minster, in October r623. He was probably released at
the end of the year, for his name appears in Gee's list of
priests in or near London (r624) as "F. Sweete, a J esuite,
well knowne, lodginge at the upper end of Holborne."
Williæm Bedford, really Drury, came to the College in
r6 0 5, and was ordained priest in r6ro. He went to the
Mission in r6r2, and his name appears in the list of priests
in the various London prisons in r632 as " William Drury
in the Clink."
Anthony Tilney, or Greenway, entered the College as a
convictor, January r4, r606. He had studied at Oxford,
and was twenty-seven or twenty-eight when he came to
Rome. He was ordained priest in September r608, and be-
came a Jesuit in r6r1. He, however, was sent to England
in r6r2, and has given a personal narrative of his arrest,
examination before the Bishop of London, and imprison-
ment for the Faith.
William A nderson, or Foster, took the College oath
in r606; but. apparently before his ordination, joined the
Society of Jesus in October r609. He had been converted
by a priest named Pigot, then in prison, and went to St.
Omer's for his humanities. Whilst on the Mission" Father
Foster received the dying son of Thornborough, the Protes-
tant Bishop of Worcester, into the Church, having been
called in by the Catholic daughter of that prelate. The
enraged Bishop seized the Father and consigned him to a
loathsome dungeon in Worcester Gaol, but shortly after
paid the penalty for this cruel conduct by dying a miserable
death:' Father Foster died at St. Omer's June 9, r657.
Edmund Neville, alias Eliiah Nelson, was admitted to
the English College in r606, but only took the missionary
oath in r608 just before his ordination to the priesthood.
The following year he became a Jesuit, and, after his
novitiate, was sent to labour in England. When bed-
ridden, at the extreme age of eighty-five, he was in r648
CONFESSORESQUE LUCIDI
16 5
dragged from his bed by the Parliamentarian soldiers,
thrown into a cart and committed to prison as a priest.
He was afterwards removed to London and called up for
trial, when for lack of evidence he was discharged. He
soon afterwards died from the effects of the brutal treatment
he had received.
William Whittingham came to Rome and took the College
oath in 1607. He had only studied his philosophy and one
year's theology, when he made up his mind to becon1e a
Jesuit, and on September 27, 1611, left the College to pass
his novitiate at Nantes. The Jesuit Records say that" he
suffered imprisonment for several years in N ewgate for
the Catholic Faith, and, during the last year of his life,
reconciled a hundred and fifty persons to the Catholic
Church. "
Henry Brooke, or Hawkins, came to Rome in 1609, and
after his ordination joined the Jesuits in 1615. Being sent
on the EngIish Mission, he was arrested and banished with
several other priests in 1618. He returned to his mission,
and, after giving twenty-five years' service he died at
Ghent August 18, 1646.
Richard Audrey, or Bartlett, was ordained priest in 1611,
and, having finished his studies, left for England April 22,
1615. He became a Jesuit in 1616, and, after suffering
imprisonment for the Faith, was sent into exile in 1618,
with eleven other Jesuits. He returned to his perilous work,
and finally died at the College of Rennes February 22, 16 45.
Thomas TVharton, or Foster, of York, was admitted to
take the College oath in 1609, and on December 27, 1614,
was ordained by Cardinal Bellarmine. In 1616 he departed
for the English Mission. Driven from the missions in
Yorkshire by the heat of persecution, he took refuge in
Lincolnshire, where he was arrested and thrown into Lincoln
Gaol. Here he died in chains, a martyr for the Faith,
:March 31, 1648.
Robert Arden, or Grosvenor, was admitted to the College
in 1614, and took the missionary oath in 1616. He finished
his studies at the College and was sent to England Apnl
1620. In the same year he was received into the Society
of Jesus in Belgium. He returned to the English Mission
166 THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN RO
VfE
in I624, and was many times imprisoned for the Catholic
Faith. At one period he passed two years in the dungeons
of York and Hull. He died February I4, I668, aged eighty-six.
Thomas Barker, or Farmer, came to the College in I6I4,
and was ordained in I620. He left Rome in I62I, and the
same year became a Jesuit. He was one of the victims of
the Oates Plot, and in I679, when he was eighty-six years old,
he was seized by the priest -catchers and thrown into N ew-
gate. He remained in its loathsome dungeons for two
years and a half, and died soon after he was liberated,
April I9, I683.
John Taylor, actually Robinson, was admitted to the
College in I6I6. H:s parents were great sufferers for the
Faith; his father, reduced to poverty, was thrown into prison,
and died in chains; his mother was likewise imprisoned for
several years for entertaining priests in her house, and died
after her release. John Taylor entered the Society in I620,
and after his ordination was sent to England. He was
at once captured and lodged in the prison of York Castle.
Fr. Henry Morse, the n1artyr, was his fellow-prisoner,
and, having been admitted to the Society in I625, actually
made his novitiate under Fr. John Robinson's guidance
in his prison. In I652 Fr. Robinson was again arrested
and condemned to death as a priest at York Assizes. He
was only reprieved at the gallows, and, after being long
detained in prison, was eventually allowed to die in peace,
September 20, I675.
Thomas Rochester, or Rogers, took the College oath in
May I6I8, and, having been ordained priest August 9,
I620, left the College in October to become a Jesuit. He
went on the English Mission in 1627, and in 1656 is reported
as being in prison. He died on September 29, 1657 (probably
n bonds).
Francis Gardiner, actually StePhens, after coming to the
College in October 1617, was sent to England June 19,
1624. He apparently joined the Jesuits about the same
year, if he be the same Francis Gardiner who is described
in the list of Jesuits captured at Clerkenwell in that year
as a <t novice priest." In the lvf enology of the Society he is
said to have died January I8, 1648: <t Beloved for his
CONFESSORESQUE LUCIDI
16 7
piety and sincerity. He was very devout in praying for
the holy souls in Purgatory, and was confident of obtaining
assistance from them in all dangers and difficulties. Nor
was he disappointed, for, happening to fall into the hands
of the pursuivants while carrying the Holy Viaticun1 to
the sick, the officers searched him so closely that they
stripped him to the shirt. Thereupon he said to our Lord:
C My God, save Thyself, for I can now do no more.' At
the same time he held the small pyx closed in his hand,
and no one noticed it."
Cuthbert Green, or Clapton, came to the English College
in 16 3 1 , and after being ordained, left for England April 27,
163 8 . The Jesuit Superiors of the Venerabile noted him as
U inconstant and inobservant of discipline"; but he proved
himself a valiant Confessor of the Faith. Though living
in the house of the Venetian Ambassador in London, he
was seized in 1641 by the aid of the apostate Carpenter,
in the time of the Parliament. He was tried as a priest and
condenlned to death, together with Father William Ward,
an old father of eighty years. This latter received the
martyr's crown at Tyburn on July 26, 1641. Cuthbert
Clapton, however, was liberated upon the demand of the
Ambassador, and coming to Rome after his imprisonment,
died in the Eternal City in 1644. He was buried in the
church of the English College.
This long list of Confessors of the Faith from the Annals
of the English College most certainly only gives the names
of some of those students who suffered for their religion.
It will have been noticed that, in the majority of cases,
the circumstances of the heroic constancy displayed is
known because the Confessors were students who either
in their student days or subsequently whilst on the English
Mission had become Jesuits. More fortunate than their
companions in the College, who subsequently had to face
the same perils in the exercise of their ministry, they found
in the Order they joined brethren eager to set down the
particulars of their combat. In this way, through the
researches of Brother Foley, 'we know much more of the
career and sufferings of such as became Jesuits than we
do about the rest.
CHAPTER VIII
THE COLLEGE IN THE SECOND CENTURY OF ITS
:þXISTENCE
FROM r680 to r695 Cardinal Howard, a member of the
noble family of the Dukes of Norfolk, was Cardinal Pro-
tector of the English College. Under the Protectorate of
this Cardinal so much was done for the buildings of the
College, and his benefactions were so great, that it is only
right that his name should be ren1embered by all students
of the Venerabile with gratitude.
Cardinal Howard was born at Arundel House in London
in r629, the third son of Henry Frederick Howard, third
Earl of Arundel. He was for a time a member of St. John's
College, Cambridge, and after a brief stay there, went to
Utrecht and subsequently to Antwerp, where he deter-
mined to devote his life to the service of religion. His
grandfather, who at this time had conformed to the State
religion, raised serious objections to this, and he was sent
with his brothers for a long continental tour. Whilst in
Milan he came across an Irish Dominican friar, John Baptist
Hacket, and going with him to the Dominican convent
at Cremona, received the habit of the Order in r645. His
family did all that was possible to make him return to the
secular state, and finally he was sent for by Pope Innocent X
in September r645, and placed with the Oratorian Fathers
at the Chiesa Nuova. After five months' trial, and after
several personal interviews with the Pope, the Holy Father
was convinced of the call of the young man to religion,
and in October r646 he made his profession at S.
Clemente.
Father Philip Thomas Howard subsequently had an
eventful life, and amongst his other deeds founded a
Dominican House at Bornhem, in East Flanders. King
168
SECOND CENTURY OF ITS EXISTENCE 169
Charles II of England was privately married to Catherine
of Braganza in 1662, in the presence of the future Cardinal,
who became the private chaplain of the Queen and resided
at the English Court. Pepys records a visit he made to him
at St. James's Palace January 23, 1667, and declares that
he found him "a good-natured gentleman," discussed
church music with him, and was shown over the" new
monastery," both "talking merrily about the difference
in our religion."
In 1669 the Holy See determined to appoint Howard
the Vicar-Apostolic in England. Since Dr. Richard Smith,
second Vicar-Apostolic, who died in Paris in 1655, no suc-
cessor had been created. The English clergy, whilst approving
the appointment of Howard, resolved that the title Vicar
Apostolic was inexpedient, and begged that he might have
the ordinary jurisdiction of a bishop. A long controversy
ensued, but finally, the Bulls which had been made out for
his consecration, were suspended in 1672, and he was not
in fact consecrated. On May 27, 1675, he was made Cardinal
priest by Pope Clement X, taking first as his title the
Church of Sta. Cecilia, and on the death of Cardinal de
Retz in 1679, that of Sta. Maria super l\1inervam. In this
same year, at the request of Charles II, he was named
Cardinal Protector of England in succession to Cardinal
Barberini who died in 1679. He thus became also Pro-
tector of the English College.
Under Cardinal Howard's direction, and, it is said, at
the cost of 10,000 scudi, the rebuilding of the College as well
as of the palace next door was undertaken. This work was
finished in 1685, according to the designs of Legenda and
Carlo Fontana. The Cardinal commenced to pay to the
College rent for the palace from April 17, 1685, but he
used it only on state occasions, since although he had a
pension of 10,000 scudi (f2250) from the Pope, and apart-
ments in the Vatican, he preferred to lead the simple life
of a friar in the Dominican convent of Sta. Sabina.
\Vhen the birth of James Francis Edward Prince of
Wales on June 10, 1688, was known in Rome, Cardinal
Howard, always a staunch Englishman, "gave a feast in
which an ox was roasted whole, being stuffed with lambs,
17 0 THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN RO
ME
fowls and provisions of all kinds." 1 On his death, which
took place in Rome on June 17, 1694, Cardinal Howard was
buried in the church of the Minerva, where a plain marble slab
with the Howard arms and an inscription still marks the spot.
After his death his benefactions to the English College involved
the establishment in a lawsuit with the Dominicans. He
had left the Order his heir to build a house in Flanders,
and the Dominicans set up the contention that the sum
of 10,000 scudi ([2250) spent by the Protector upon the
improvements of the College was a loan and not a gift.
At the same time as the College was rebuilt, the Church
was likewise much improved and refurnished. To meet
these expenses, besides the donations made by the Cardinal of
Norfolk, as the Protector was usually called in Rome, some
of the property possessed by the College was sold, and
money was likewise raised by mortgage on other rents and
houses. One immediate result of the rebuilding and refitting
of the College was to re-establish the reputation of the
institution and to increase the numbers of the alumni
and convictors. Unfortunately, the changes and reforms
which the Cardinal of Norfolk had designed to introduce
were suspended in great measure by the political events
in England and elsewhere. In England, the revolution of
1688 and the flight of King James II reacted naturally on
the English College in Rome, whilst the Jansenist troubles
in France had also the effect of a drag upon the good inten-
tions of the Cardinal Protector. Nevertheless a most useful
and necessary work was accomplished by his interest and
determination, for which English Catholics, and in particular
all students of the Venera bile, must ever hold the name
of Cardinal Howard in benediction.
In regard to the appointment of Bishops for England,
the Cardinal had always maintained the necessity of proper
ecclesiastical government in that country, and in Rome
he seconded the efforts of the English secular clergy to
obtain Bishops. For a time the opposition of some of the
Regulars and of the existing secular Chapter, who objected
to the title of Vicar-Apostolic, defeated the purpose. But at
length in 1685 a Vicar-Apostolic was appointed, and three
1 Dict. of Nat. Biography, s.v.
SECOND CENTURY OF ITS EXISTENCE 171
years later, in 1688, England was divided by Pope Inno-
cent XI into four ecclesiastical districts, over which Vicars-
Apostolic were appointed to preside. The Cardinal of
Norfolk was thus able before his death to see the estab-
lishment of some form of episcopal government in England,
for which he had so long contended, and the appointment
of these four Bishops proved a considerable help to the
stability of the College in Rome.
After Cardinal Howard's death the office of Protector
of England and of the English College remained vacant for
more than twenty years. Meanwhile the English Vicars-
Apostolic renewed their complaints about the results
obtained from the National Institution, and, as the English
secular clergy had frequently done before, made urgent
requests to the Holy See to change the government of the
College. The supreme Pontiff Innocent XII thereupon
ordered another Visitation of the establishment, which was
continued under his successor Clement XI. Cardinal
Francesco Barberini was the Visitor chosen, and the result
of his work was the publication in 1702 of certain rules for
discipline and to secure the proper administration of the
property; but without the formality of any Acts of the
Visitation. As a fact, however, the Visitation was not
closed, but merely suspended under the following circum-
stances. A report, it is needless to say without foundation,
was set in circulation in Rome that English ecclesiastics
generally were infected by J ansenism, which at that time
divided and dominated France. Rumours were set going
about the orthodoxy not only of the English College in Rome
but also about that of the Professors, etc., at Douay, nay,
even the Vicars-Apostolic of England were said to be infected
by the errors prevailing in France. Though the reports,
so ingeniously fostered by some parties in the Eternal
City, were discredited by those who knew the facts, they
were sufficient to suspend the Visitation then in progress.
The parties supposed to be infected by heretical views and
sympathies, vigorously expressed their indignation at the
suspicions cast upon them, and absolutely denied that
there was any ground whatever for them. The Court of
James II of England, then in exile at St. Germain's, the
172 THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
Professors and the Doctors of the University of Douay, the
Papal Nuncio at Brussels and the English Vicars-Apostolic,
wrote to the Pope in defence of their calumniated innocence.
In the end the Pope found that all the accusations
were false, and on February 17, 1711, he wrote to the
English Bishops to that effect, and congratulated them on
their triumphant vindication against their calumniators.
The Nuncio also, by the desire of the Holy See, undertook
a Visitation of the College at Douay, which entirely cleared
the reputation of that celebrated establishnlent. But
these internal difficulties, and the fresh persecution of the
Catholics in England, led to the suspension of the Visitation
of the English College for more than twenty years. Natur-
ally this state of things was unsatisfactory, and in the year
1736 the English Vicars-Apostolic again besought Pope
Clen1ent XII to find some measures to put an end to it,
by taking some practical steps to carry out the changes
in the government of the College they had long asked
for.
The Holy Father at once took the matter in hand, and
commissioned the Cardinals De Via and Rovere (the former
being Cardinal Protector of England, had become in 1729
also Protector of the Venerabile, the latter the Protector of
Scotland), together with Monsignor Belmonte, to reassume
the enquiry and finish it. Accordingly, on September 14,
"1.737, they began their work, and after holding various
sessions they finished it on January 27, 1739.
The acts of the Visitation afford some interesting par-
ticulars about the College. The stable revenues of the
establishment are stated to have been then 3822 scudi a
year, besides about 1500 scudi from pensions, gifts, etc.
The personnel of the College was at that time composed
of six Jesuits, with Father Joseph Marshall as Rector;
two secular prefects; six Jesuit lay-brethren and five
servants living out of the place. The students who in 1700
numbered thirty-eight, in 1739 were only sixteen. In
these thirty-nine years, from the beginning of the eighteenth
century to the end of the Visitation, the number of those
who passed through the College is given as 194, an average
practically of five a year, and of this number only forty-six
SECOND CENTURY OF ITS EXISTENCE 173
took up the work of the English Mission, at any rate as
secular priests. 1
Of the sixteen English College students remaining in the
Venerabile in 1739, four were studying theology, nine philo-
sophy, and two were still being taught their humanities.
No indication is given of the status of those who had been
sent out to countries other than England, some were priests,
some evidently were not.
In England at this time the position of Catholics was
deplorable, and there was an urgent need for priests to
sustain the spirit of the ever oppressed poor remnant of
those who were loyal to the old Faith. An entry in the
Gentleman's Magazine for February 1735 shows that from
time to time the hand of the law made itself felt against
those who persisted in the practice of their religion.
" Sunday 23. About eleven o'clock, the Peace Officers
going their rounds to the public-houses, to prevent dis-
orderly smoking and tippling in time of Divine Service,
discovered a private Mass-house at a little ale-house at the
1 The following figures are given-
Priests sent to England . . 46
II .. France . . 20
II II Flanders . 12
No destination 16
Expelled for various reasons . . 34
Fugitives 4
Died in Rome . II
Entered various orders . 9
Became Jesuits 7
Absolved from the oath. 5
Not admitted to take the oath 14
Still at the College . 16
The following were the number of students at the College in the years
from 1700-
17 00 3 8 17 2 4 24
17 0 3 27 17 2 7 28
17 0 4 24 173 0 22
17 0 5 20 173 2 24
17 10 19 1735 26
17 1 5 25 173 6 24
17 16 21 1737 23
17 18 27 173 8 20
17 20 14 1739 . 16
174 THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
back of Shoreditch, where nearly a hundred people had got
together in a garret, most of them miserable, poor and
ragged, and upon examination appeared to be Irish. Some
few were well dressed and several Mass-books were found
with them. The priest made his escape out of a back door,
leaving the rest to shift for themselves, whereupon some
got out of a trap door and others, after giving an account
of their names and places of abode, were let quietly depart.
Notwithstanding, a great many met in the evening at the
same place, declaring that Mass should be said there." 1
In 1737 Bishop Petre prepared a statement of the
position and needs of the English :l\Iission to be presented
to the Holy See. I t declares that the number of Catholics
is daily dhninishing for various reasons, and, amongst
others, because a suitable body of missioners was not at hand,
and the Bishops believed that this could only be supplied
by a reform in the administration of the seminaries abroad,
and especially of those at Rome and Valladolid. The points
of reform specially suggested are that the full income of
each college should be spent on the education of the
students; that only those students shall be admitted who
are sent to those colleges by the Vicars-Apostolic, and that
the course of studies be better adapted to the needs of the
English Mission. 2
The joint letter of the English Bishops must have arrived
opportunely for the consideration of the Cardinals De Via
and Rovere, then occupied in examining into the difficulties
at the College in Rome. The Bishops state that from 1724
to 1736 only fifteen students from the Venerabile had come
to work in England. But, according to the English Pro-
vincial of the Jesuits, Father Brown, in a letter to Bishop
Petre, the number really was five-and-twenty. From the
Diary of the College, however, it would appear that neither
number is quite correct, and that during these twelve
years the College in Rome sent eighteen or nineteen secular
priests to England.
As the practical result of the enquiry of the Cardinals
several very useful decrees were made for the better govern-
1 Dr. Burton, Life of Bishop Challonef', i. p. 79.
II Ib., pp. 80-81.
SECOND CENTURY OF ITS EXISTENCE [75
Inent of the Venerabile, and some of those made by Cardinal
Barberini as Visitor appointed by Pope Alexander VII in
I655 were confirmed. These were largely connected with
economy, administration, the admission of students, piety
and discipline. In particular the study of sacred Scripture
and modern controversy useful for the English :Mission was
enjoined, so as to meet the complaints of the English Bishops
that students returned to their own country ill-prepared for
their work and for the difficulties they would have to encounter
there. These decrees, it may here be remarked, were the
basis of those which were issued in I8I8 by Cardinal Consalvi
on the re-establishment of the English College after the
French Revolution.
Nothing, however, was done to meet the chief request
of the Vicars-Apostolic of England in regard to the govern-
ment of the College. Apparently, the only notice taken
of this matter is the remarks in the V otum of :l\IonsÌgnor
Belmonte. He was of opinion that the demands of the
Bishops for the restoration of the College to secular clergy
were U weak, egotistical and insufficient to justify their
requests." .
The result of this Visitation destroyed the hopes of the
English clergy and their confidence in the College, which
became ever less acceptable to the English, and it was
increasingly difficult to get for it students who had finished
their humanities. The year I753 is a notable date in the
history of the Church in England, since in that year Pope
Benedict XIV issued the celebrated Bull A postolicum
Ai inisteriwm, which regulated the jurisdiction of the Bishops
over the missions served by the members of the Regular
Orders. This removed at once many occasions of difficulty
and doubt. One of the immediate results of the Pope's
decision was to draw the attention of the Roman authorities
to the complaints which had been made so frequently by
the Visitors-Apostolic as to the results of the education of
the English students in Rome, and as to the small assistance
that the College gave in furnishing labourers to the English
:Mission. U The Bishops," writes Dr. Burton, "felt that,
as long as they were not consulted on the selection of
candidates, they would continue to be saddled with unsuit-
176 THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
able and often undesirable missioners. Dr. Challoner seized
the opportunity offered by this more favourable condition
of things to select from his district three youths, and to
dispatch them to the English College, at the same time
intimating that the Vicars-Apostolic of both the Midland and
Northern Districts were about to do the same." 1
Dr. Christopher Stonor, the agent of the English Bishops
in Rome, wrote to Challoner that this action on the part
of the English Vicars-Apostolic had given great satisfac-
tion. . . . "I find they (i. e. the Roman authorities) are
very desirous that we should have the choosing of the
youths that are to be educated in that house; and certainly
it is more desirable, and much more likely to answer the
end of the institution to have hopeful youths of our choosing
than to be forced to take up with the quisquiliæ or leavings
of other people." H For my part," writes Challoner in reply,
" I am so much convinced of the importance of our embracing
this opportunity of fixing the choice of the subjects to be
sent thither, that the Bishops should do all in their power
to find proper subjects. They should be at least fourteen
years old, and know the first rudiments of Latin." 2
I t was time that something was done to build up the
College, if it was to be saved from final ruin. It had become
increasingly difficult to obtain from other colleges students
who had finished their humanity studies. St. Omer's con-
tinued to supply a few, but this source was stopped when
the Jesuits were suppressed in France in 1763, and it became
at last impossible to observe the Constitution of Pope
Gregory XIII for the English College, which required that
the al1t1J'lni were to be limited to students in philosophy
and theology. The English Bishops were unable to furnish
advanced students, and on September 14, 1764, Bishop
Challoner writes to the Rector, Fr. Booth, sending two
young boys for rudiments, H as we have no convenience
at present of sending you any from hence that are farther
advanced." 3
In 1772 the financial state of the College had become
almost desperate, and on May 5 the Rector begged leave
to pawn at the Monte di Pietà a jug and basin of silver
1 Life of Bishop Chalione'Y, i. p. 361. 2 Ib. 3 Scrittu'Ye, 46.
SECOND CENTURY OF ITS EXISTENCE 177
gilt to meet the pressing wants of the students. He
obtained permission by a rescript signed by Cardinal Caval-
chini, of the Congregation of Vesco vi e Regolari. 1
The suppression of the Society of Jesus by Pope Clement
XIV necessarily involved changes in the administration of
the English College. On the night of August 16, 1773,
the date of the Brief of Suppression, the General of the
Society, Fr. Laurenzo Ricci, the supposed author of the
famous expression, "Aut sint ut sunt, aut non sint," 2
was conducted by Corsican soldiers to the English College.
Here he was imprisoned in an upper gallery under the
guard of his captors until preparations had been made for
his reception into the Castle of Sant' Angelo on the 22nd
of September, where he passed the remainder of his life.
For the English College, this treatment of the Father-
General, which appears to us so harsh and unnecessary,
was, say the Archives of the College, expensive for the
establishment.
On the Suppression, the management of the College was
at once entrusted to the care of Italian ecclesiastics; men,
no doubt, excellent and talented, but necessarily ignorant
of English needs and not able to speak the language of the
students. Dr. Stonor wrote to Bishop Challoner on this
subject in the September of this year, 1773: "That you
maybe better able to give your opinIOn upon this subject,"
he says, " I will here acquaint you with what His Eminence
[the Protector, Cardinal Corsini] has told me of his views
and intentions. His design is to put the house under the
care of secular priests: and intends that the first superiors
and masters should be Italians, persons he is thoroughly
acquainted with and sure of. But, as it is necessary there
should be also some Englishmen to keep up the practice
of the English tongue, and to oversee the exercises in the
English, he would be glad you should look about for a
proper person to recommend to him. . . . His design is
that the young men should go no more to the publick schools
1 Scritture, 48, 5.
2 Although Father Ricci is generally credited with this saying,
Crétineau- }oly (Histoire de la Compagnie de ]ésus, ed. 1846, vol. v. p. 3 08 )
gives reason for the belief that in reality it was used by Pope
Clement XIII.
N
178 THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROAIE
in town, but have their schools and masters at home: and
he hopes in time to raise masters and superiors out of the
members of the house, as is practised at Doway: he is
desirous that the young men that are sent here for the future,
should be fit at least to commence their Rhetorick. He is
no stranger to the difficulties that might attend the bringing
up youths so far in their studies in England: but is ready
to obviate them effectually: as he hopes to be able to
allow enough to maintain at S. Omer's, till Rhetorick, a
number of such youths as you and your confrères may
think proper subjects to send hither and like to answer
the end of this foundation." 1
Later on Bishop Challoner communicated to the other
Vicars-Apostolic the news that he had received another
letter from Dr. Stonor saying that a memorial had been
presented to the Pope on the subject of the English College,
and that he hoped" to obtain English Superiors and Masters
for the Institution." He urges that they should have fit-
ting men to propose "a superior, a master of Divinity
and of Philosophy and perhaps one of Rhetorick, or a
procurator would be enough in the beginning." 2
Nothing, however, came of these good intentions, and
the arrangements made by Cardinal Corsini to have Italian
superiors and professors at the English College continued
till the French occupation in 1796. Few priests came to
the English l\/Iission during this period, and many students
who were received were found to be unfitted and sent away.
It is impossible not to recognise that this failure of the
Institution to carry out the object for which it had been
created was not due to the want of talent and good will
on the part of the Superiors and Professors, but to their
ignorance of the customs, character and language of those
they had to direct. Their pupils after eight or ten years
resident in the College returned to England with so little
knowledge of the difficulties they would have to meet in
the exercise of their ministry and even of their native
language, that they were almost regarded as foreigners,
and sometimes were unable to catechise, instruct or preach
when called upon to do so.
I Life of Bishop Cha/loner, ii. p. 163. 2 Ib., p. 168.
SECOND CENTURY OF ITS EXISTENCE 179
In 1781 there were at the College eight priests as
Superiors and Professors, three prefects and twenty-three
students, and from a diary of the Rector Felici it appears
that of these, three died at the College, eleven were sent
away, four proved to have no vocation and left, and five
only were ordained priests. Ten years later the Vicars-
Apostolic again approached the Pope, Pius VI, in regard
to the English College, and again urged the necessity of
placing it under the government of English secular priests.
This time their agent,
ionsignor Stonor, was more success-
ful, and they received a favourable reply through Propa-
ganda. The rescript was dated April 2, 1783, and it was
couched in the following terms: "Since this is so much
desired by you, in future care shall be taken that when next
the Office shall become vacant, one of your priests, whose
piety, doctrine and capability of administration is assured,
shall be appointed head of the College." This decree was
signed by the Prefect of Propaganda, Cardinal Antonelli,
and by the secretary, Monsignor Borgia.
Nothing, unfortunately, could be done at the time.
Cardinal Corsini held the office of Protector of the College
from 1773 till his death in 1795. He had introduced the
system of Italian professors and superiors, and the system
of studies followed in the Institution. He had, indeed,
chosen and appointed himself all these professors and the
Rector, and perhaps naturally was unwilling to destroy
his own work by putting the Pontifical decree into execu-
tion. Moreover, at this time the storm of the French
Revol ution had overwhelmed and ruined all the English
colleges, monasteries, etc. which had existed in France
and the Low Countries, and the clouds were already
threatening Italy and Rome. The English Mission was in
dire need of help. This was recognised even by the English
Government, and in the time of this calamity it set itself
to favour the education of the Catholic clergy, founding the
great College of :Maynooth in Ireland and subsidising the
poor clergy in Scotland. The English Minister to the
Roman Court strongly recommended the Holy Father to
give life to the national Colleges of England and Scotland
by placing them under Superiors of their own nationality
180 THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
in accordance with the rescript of Propaganda. His effort
was seconded by the Cardinal of York, the Cardinal Dean,
Albani, Protector of Scotland, Cardinal Campanelli, Pro-
tector of England, and Cardinals Antonelli and Gerdil,
successively Prefects of Propaganda. The Reverend Paul
Macpherson was immediately appointed Rector of the
Scotch College, where, as a fact, he was already in posses-
sion, and Cardinal Campanelli was preparing to do the
same for the English College when he died, and very shortly
after the French took possession of the Eternal City.
CHAPTER IX
PUBLIC DISPUTATIONS AND SERMONS
FROM the earliest days of the College the students were
encouraged to take part in public disputations and sermons
in Rome. A volume still existing in the Archives of the
College, though unfortunately now somewhat mutilated,
records not only the names of those who took part in these
public acts, but the sermons and speeches themselves, which
they preached or spoke. The first student whose name is
given as a preacher was Edward Throckmorton, who
delivered his sermon in the College Refectory on the feast
of the U Finding of the Holy Cross," May 3. 1581. He was
then only nineteen years of age, and had come to Rome the
previous year; but he had exceptional abilities, and was a
most saintly youth. The A nnnal Letters thus speak of
him: U While yet but a child he gave promise of future
sanctity, as we learn from those who had known him in
England. His zeal for winning souls to Christ was even
then far beyond his years. His main purpose was to recall
to the Faith such of his companions as had gone astray,
to confirm the wavering, and to encourage those that were
suffering for religion's sake. He used to teach rude and
uninstructed Catholics the method of prayer, read to them
Saints' lives and lead them on to all godliness. . . . It was
by means of the glorious martyr, Father Ralph Sherwin,
a former student of this College, that he came to Rome.
On his adnnssion he at once gave a shining example of virtue,
manifesting in all he did a rare prudence, the deepest
humility and most exact obedience." 1
He was one of the three English College students who
died in 1582, the other two being Ralph Shirlev anò Thomas
Bennett, both models of virtue and piety.
1 Foley, Records. vi. p. 96.
181
182
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROlvIE
U Edward Throckmorton," continues the account in the
A nnual Letters, U so ordered every detail of his daily work
as to excite the wonder of all. After his death a rule of life
for every day was found, which he had faithfully carried
out. He had vowed chastity, and the Father to whom he
made the confession of his whole life bears witness that
he preserved his virginity unstained. He persevered so
earnestly in striving for the mastery over his passions and
self-will that he was the admiration of his Superiors and
director. He frequently asked leave to inflict the most
severe mortifications on his body, and held himself in so
little account that, though he dealt most harshly with
himself, he considered that he was too self-indulgent. Hence
he suffered no day to pass without asking leave for some
penitential infliction. Such was his obedience that not only
his actions, but even his thoughts were submitted to the
judgement of his Superiors as to a safe and most trustworthy
standard. But as his life and actions far excelled what is
told of the fervour of ordinary devout people, they have
been described at full length in a letter, which those who
wish to know more of him would do well to read. I will add
but this one trait; he was at times so overwhelmed with the
abundance of heavenly delights as to be forced to exclaim,
t Enough, 0 Lord, enough: hold the hand of Thy loving-
kindness.' At length the end of his brief course was at hand
and he fell sick. During his illness he was molested by
diabolical illusions, but was comforted by a vision of Christ
and of St. Odo, whom, according to the College custom,
he had drawn for his monthly patron. After exhibiting a
bright example of patience he departed this life on St. Odo's
day (November 18, 1582). His death produced so deep an
impression that many felt moved to more earnest strivings
after virtue, and when, as is the custom, he was recom-
mended to the prayers of the students, they unanimously
replied that it was fitter to chant the Te Deum for hin1 than
the Office of the Dead." 1 I n articulo mortis he was received
into the Society of Jesus.
It was the constant practice of Pope Gregory XIII to
show his interest in the students of the College of which he
J Records, ut sup. p. 97.
PUBLIC DISPUTATIONS AND SERI110NS 183
was the founder, and to receive the missioners before their
departure to England. In March 1581, four priests, namely:
Fathers William Harrison, Arthur Pitt, William Hart and
Hugh Probert, went to kiss the Pope's feet and to receive
his blessing. The Holy Father overwhelmed them with
kindness and gave each of them fifty gold pieces for the
journey. One of these four, William Hart, afterwards a
martyr for the Faith, made a short address to His Holiness,
in Latin, U which both moved and consoled the Pontiff
and all who were present." In a history of the College this
address must be given in full.
"Most Blessed Father,-Gratitude is of so strict an
obligation, that it behoves us to beware not so much of
choosing an unseasonable occasion of testifying our lively
memory of favours received, as of neglecting at any time to
satisfy its claims. \Ve must confess that Your Holiness has
bound us to yourself by so many benefits, that though,
being strangers, we find it difficult to give expression to our
feelings, yet, as we are not ungrateful, we must needs give
some token of our deep sense of what has been done for us.
Constrained, therefore, both by a sense of duty and by the
greatness of your charity in our regard, dutifully prostrate
at your sacred feet, we make bold briefly to express for the
last time (as we may not hope to have the privilege again)
our heartfelt gratitude and to rehearse the favours received
at your hands.
" Of all the monuments which your virtues have raised
to themselves throughout Christendom none are more
glorious or shine with purer lustre than the provision made
by you for the welfare and salvation of the souls of our
fellow-countrymen who are being dragged down to per-
dition. By your fatherly tenderness, care and solicitude
has it been brought about that those who were children of
wrath have now become heirs of God, fellow-heirs with
Jesus Christ. You have opened up and cleared of its
obstacles the way of return to the faith and practice of
our ancestral religion for all who are willing to enter upon
it and to walk therein, and have encouraged us to look
forward to the complete re-conversion of our fatherland,
by opposing to the barbarous rage of the heretics those
18 4 THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN RO
ME
schools of virtue and learning, the Seminaries of Rome and
Rheims.
" So great are the benefits we gladly acknowledge to have
received from you, so divine are they, that to attempt to
set them forth in laboured discourse were to mar their
splendour. Remit not, most Blessed Father, your efforts
to aid the afflicted and comfort the wretched, nor withhold
that fostering care for our dear England which it needed
no one to inspire you with, though events prove contrary
and the times evil. This is the prayer addressed to you by
the cries of helpless infants, the moanings of mothers, the
tears of our nobles, the earnest entreaties of the clergy,
the loyalty to this Holy See of which so many of our country-
men have given proof. What they, being absent, are
unable to say, may not be suppressed by us who are privi-
leged to behold your fatherly countenance.
"To conclude. It has pleased the Divine Goodness,
and has seemed good to our Superiors into whose hands we
have committed ourselves that we should return to England
as labourers in an abundant harvest; in other words to
strive with all our might to gain the souls of our brethren.
We cannot but be fully aware of the toils of the journey,
the blood-stained weapons of the foe, the unheard-of
atrocities of the heretics, not to mention countless other
circumstances. Impelled, as it were, by that instinct
which urges even the lower animals, when goaded by hunger,
to seek out him by whom they have once been fed, we too,
under pressure of our necessities, have recourse to your
bounty, to that ever-flowing source of favour at which we
have so often drunk, nothing fearing, nothing doubting.
Unworthy indeed were the thought that the open hand
which maintained us during our studies would be closed
against us at our going forth; rather do we rest assured
that the generosity which has trained us will not fail to
arm us now we are entering the lists. On our part we will
not cease to pray as heretofore to the most High for the
peace, unity and authority of Holy Church, and for the
well-being of Your Holiness, which as we plainly see bound
up with that of all. Farewell! Long may you live,
l\Iost Blessed Father! ,.
PUBLIC DISPUTATIONS AND SERft10NS 185
In this same year, 1581, in which Edward Throckmorton
preached his sermon in the College Refectory, another
student made an address before and after the defension
held in public in the presence of the Cardinal Protector,
Boncompagni. This was Andrew Gibbons, a native of
Wells in Somerset, who was admitted to the College,
apparently in 1580. He left before his ordination and died
in 1583 at Bonn. On St. Stephen's Day was inaugurated
a long-continued practice of one of the students preaching
before the Pope and Cardinals in the Sistine Chapel on that
feast. The ceremonial to be observed on these occasions
is noted down in th.e volume of addresses and sermons before
referred to. A carriage was sent from the Vatican to bring
the preacher from the College: he was to remain in the
sacristy vested in his surplice until the :Master of Ceremonies
came to fetch hin1 after the singing of the Gospel. He was
then, on entering the Chapel, to bow profoundly to the
Cardinal celebrating the Mass, and then to proceed to the
papal throne, where first kneeling on both knees he was to
ascend and kiss the Pope's foot, to salute His Holiness with
a bow, and returning to the bottom step, was again to genu-
flect on both knees, and having received the blessing, was
to ask permission to publish the usual Indulgences. In his
sermon he was not to turn directly to the Pope, but to look
rather to the Cardinals; neither was he to raise his voice
too loudly, and to beware of being carried away by his
eloquence or of making use of too many gestures. After
the sermon was finished, he was directed to return to the
steps of the throne and remain kneeling whilst the Confiteor
was being sung, after which he was to rise and publish the
Indulgence, again kneeling whilst the Holy Father pro-
nounced the blessing. At the end he was to follow the
:Master of Ceremonies to the sacristy. The occasion must
have been a trying ordeal for the student even although,
as was evidently the case, the Latin discourse had been
composed for him. The feast suggested references to the
possible martyrdom of the selected orator, when his turn
came to go forth from Rome for the English Mission. On
this first occasion, St. Stephen's Day, 1581, the young
preacher was John Cornelius, who after eleven years of
186
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
apostolate in England was crowned by martyrdom in
1594.
In 1582, on the feast of the Holy Trinity, William
Brookesby preached a sermon before the Cardinal Protector
in the College Refectory; and later on in the year, at the
time of the Forty Hours' Exposition, Father Cornelius was
again the preacher selected to address the congregation
gathered in the College Church. The account of the
Institution of this devotion at the College given in the
Annual Letter of this year is of interest. "The Forty
Hours' Exposition has been twice held in the College Church,
for the relief of the spiritual needs of England, and His
Holiness granted a Plenary Indulgence to all who were
present. Besides an immense concourse of people, the
Cardinals, many members of the prelacy, of the confra-
ternities, and of the Roman, German and Greek Colleges,
together with that of the newly baptised, assembled in due
order and spent a whole hour in prayer. At fixed intervals
the students discoursed in Latin, and the Fathers in Italian
on the troubles of that ill-fated island. The impression
made, not only on the vulgar and humbler sort, but on the
prelates and dignitaries present, manifested itself in the
length and fervour of their visit and their abundant tears.
The Mass of Deposition, as also that of Exposition, was
sung with all due solemnity by a Bishop. His Holiness
Gregory XIII, out of his gracious partiality to the English
nation, of which our College founded and endowed by his
munificence is so admirable an instance, has issued a Brief
addressed to Catholic princes and the rest of the faithful,
to interest their charity in behalf of the numerous exiles
for conscience' sake. The Brief was published by the
Lenten Preachers last Lent and fourteen of the most dis-
tinguished prelates and nobles were appointed to visit the
several quarters of Rome, and collect contributions to the
fund for the exiles. Besides these, certain of our students
in sacred vestments and accompanied by a member of the
English, Italian or Spanish nobility, stood at the doors
of the church to solicit alms for the same charity, so that
two thousand gold pieces have by this means been gathered
in Rome. The College has taken steps to have similar
PUBLIC DISPUTATIONS AND SER
MONS 18 7
collections made in the several cities of Italy, and a sum of
five thousand gold pieces has been gathered. The move-
ment has been extended to the other countries of Europe,
and a copy of the Papal Brief accompanied by a letter from
the most illustrious Cardinal of St. Sixtus, the able patron
of the College, has been sent to the Cardinals, Archbishops
and Bishops resident in France, Spain and Germany. Whilst
trusting that a liberal response will be made to this appeal,
we do not forget that it will barely suffice for the needs of
the immense number of the exiles. For, without taking
into account those who are in divers places pursuing their
studies at the charge of the Seminary of Rheims, it has to
maintain one hundred and eighty residents, as well as those
who daily come to it from England forsaken by their
friends and despoiled of their goods for conscience' sake.
Thither do they flock as to a common refuge of the afflicted;
and after a course of study, they take priests' Orders and
return to England. But with the view of throwing light
on the wretched state of that Kingdom and the miserable
plight of its Catholic inhabitants, a book on the English
persecution has been republished at the expense of the
College, to which have been added plates descriptive of the
tortures which the enemies of the faith inflict upon our
brethren." 1
The sermons before the Pope were continued with great
regularity till 1643, when the volun1e, in which these
oratorical efforts of the English College students are re-
corded, came to an abrupt ending with apparently one quire
of paper missing. On two occasions the sermon for St.
Stephen's Day was preached at the Quirinal instead of the
Vatican, and two of the selected preachers were only in
deacons' Orders. One of these two was Thomas Hildesley,
or, as he was known among the students, Thomas Mallet,
who came of a good Catholic family of Berks and Oxford-
shire. He only entered the College in October 1598, as a
mere boy of fifteen, but he preached in the College Hall
1 This was probably De Persecutione Anglicana, first printed at Bologna
in 1581, reprinted with six plates at Rome, 1582, under the title De Per-
secutione Anglicana com11lentariolus a Collegio Al1glicano Rorn,mo, hoc anno
1,582 ill Urbe Editores.
188 THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
before Cardinal Farnese the next year, on St. Thomas's
Day, 1599. He was ordained deacon in December 1604,
and almost immediately after, on St. Stephen's feast, he
preached, as just recorded, before the Pope and Cardinals.
He died in the College only a few months later on July 20,
1605, and is described as being" dear to all on account of his
remarkable virtues and very great amiability."
Amongst the other addresses and sermons in this Collec-
tion there may be specially noted an Oratio delivered by
John Worthington in 1591, before the General of the Society
of Jesus and Father Parsons when he came back from
Spain with the latter. Worthington is an interesting
personality. He came to Douay on October 13, 1584, with
his brother Richard; and his uncle, Dr. Worthington,
notes in the DOllay Diary,l that the two youths had
suffered imprisonment for the Faith in England and with
difficulty escaped abroad. He was apparently a son of
Richard Worthington who died in prison, a Confessor of
the Faith, in 1590. From Douay he was sent to the Jesuit
School at Reichnau to study his humanities, and returning
thence was afterwards in 1590 sent with nine others to
begin the college at Seville in Spain. Although he is
entered in the English College Diary as " coming to Rome
with Father Parsons and becoming an inmate only in
1597," he was certainly there in 1591, in which year he made
the address as noted above before the General of the Jesuits.
He joined the Society on October IS, 1598.
In 1610 Father Parsons, then Rector of the English
College, died, and the funeral sermon in the church was
preached by an English College student, Henry Walker,
alias Bentley, who had been ordained in 1609. He had been
admitted to the College in 1598, but had to go back to
England in 1604, for a time. He publicly defended the whole
theses of theology, and joined the Society in 1610, the
year of Father Parsons' death. On the same day, another
student recited a long Latin poem in memory of the departed
Rector. This was Thomas Cloford, or Coke, a nephew of
Lord Chief Justice Coke and a convert to the Faith, who
had entered the College in 1607. He was not a priest
in 1610, being ordained only in 1614, and is described" as
1 Douay Diary. i. p. 203.
PUBLIC DISPUTATIONS AND SERIl'10NS 1 8 9
being a youth of great ability." He also subsequently
became a Jesuit.
One student, John Lea, or Southcote, a native of London,
preached twice before the Pope and Cardinals upon St.
Stephen's Day, in 1610, and again in 1612. He had come
to the College in 1604, and was ordained priest in April
1612. In the College Diary it is said of him, "he twice
publicly defended theses in philosophy, once according to
our custom, in the school of theology; the second time at
the Roman College, gaining the highest encomium of Cardinal
Bellarmine. In his fourth year of theology he made the
small act before Cardinal Bellarmine and then defended the
whole theses of theology in the presence of Cardinals, both
morning and evening." He afterwards took the degree of
Doctor at Paris in 1623.1
In this same old volume there is a copy of some Greek
verses spoken at 1615, at a College Academy before the
General of the Jesuits, by Robert Stanford or Stafford, son
of an old Catholic family of Perry Hall, Staffordshire. After
making his early studies in England, and at St. Omer's,
Stafford came to the English College in 1613. He was
ordained in 1616, having u admirably defended at the Rome
College the theses in philosophy." In 1617 he, too, entered
the Society of Jesus.
Two other sermons preached before Pope Urban VIII in
1642 and 1643 may be noted, since they are the last entered
in the volume now in the Archives from which these records
are taken. The first was preached on St. Stephen's Day by
Charles Baker, who had come to the College in 1638 and had
been made priest in 1642, a few months before his sermon.
His real name was David Lewis, but he was generally known
in England as Charles Baker. He subsequently joined the
Society and died a glorious martyr for the Faith in 1680.
The second and the last sermon recorded was preached by
George Paulet, whose real name was Matthew Thimelby,
who came to the College in 1638 and was ordained priest
in 1643, in which year he was the preacher in the Sistine
Chapel on St. Stephen's Day.
To the account of these sermons and addresses may be
added what :Moroni relates in his Cappella Pontificia 2 in
1 Foley, Records, vi. p. 223. I pp. 385-6.
19 0 THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROllfE
regard to the Cappella for the feast of St. Thomas of
Canterbury, which was held by the Cardinals of the C on-
gregazione dell' Ùnmullità eccles'iastica in the church of the
English College. After speaking of the foundation of the
College on the site of the old Hospice by Pope Gregory XIII,
and the rebuilding of the church by Cardinal Howard in
1575, he writes: "We know from Burcardus that the
cappella above named was celebrated in his time. In
1502 on the 29th of December, a solemn
Iass was sung in
the church of the English Hospice, on the feast of St. Thomas
of Canterbury," in the presence of cardinals and prelates.
Perhaps this afterwards fell into disuse as it is not noted
in 1623. In confirmation, however, of what Burcardus
relates, 1\10roni cites from the Archives of the College the
following: "Sermon preached on the feast of St. Thomas
of Canterbury before the Cardinals in the English College
1589," and" Sermon preached, etc., 1590."
To the above Moroni adds that when James III, the
King of England, lived in Rome, in 1721, on the morning
of the feast, Pope Clement XI went to the church and
celebrated Mass, before the Cappella Cardinalizia, and
added a collect for the Queen, who was then expecting her
confinement. After the return of Pius VII to Rome, as
the College chapel had been destroyed, the Cappella of
Cardinals on the feast could not be held there, and so in
1815, Cardinal Pacca, then Dean of the Sacred College,
and pro-Prefect of the "Congregation of ecclesiastical
immunities," caused the Cappella to be celebrated in the
Church of S. Silvestro in Capite. This Cappella Cardinalizia
was always held with great solemnity. The Cardinals were
in full dress as in a Papal chapel, and the prelates and con-
sultors in their full ecclesiastical robes. A bishop sang the
Mass, and the Pontifical choir sang Palestrina's motet, lIic
est vere Martyr.
Besides these public sermons, addresses and defensions,
the English College students used to take part in plays,
etc., in Latin, Italian and English. The remnants of a
volume in the Archives contain four of the Latin plays
composed, no doubt, by one of the Jesuit professors for
the students to act. The four are: the Tragedy oj Blessed
Thomas More, apparently written in 1612: the Tragedy oj
PUBLIC DISPUTATIONS AND SERftfONS 191
St. Thomas of Canterbury; a Drama-tragedo-comico called
Caþtiva Religio, and a Tragedy called Roffensis, relating the
trial and martyrdom of Blessed John Fisher. That these
were not the only histrionic performances of the students
may be learnt from such an unlikely source of information
as Evelyn's Dz'ary. The author came to Rome in November
1644, bringing with him letters of introduction amongst
others to Father Courtney, U the chief of the Jesuits in the
English College"; and on December 29 he says: U We were
invited to the English Jesuites to dinner, being their great
feast of St. Thomas of Canterbury. We dined in their
Common Refectory, and afterwards saw an Italian Comedy
acted by their alumni before the Cardinals." And again
the following year, 1645, Evelyn says: U On Monday in
Easter week April IS we were entertained at night with
an English play at the Jesuites, where we before had dined."
On the first occasion, when Evelyn dined in the College
Refectory on St. Thomas's Day, a note in the Pilgrim Book
states that U about fifty dined in the College, besides the
celebrant Bishop." 1
Several references have already been made to the testi-
mony of the A nnual Letters as to the religious fervour which
animated the students at various periods. It will be useful
to give a quotation from another of these letters written
in 1582. U The fervour of our students," the writer says,
U shows no signs of flagging, on the contrary, it grows
the more intense as the condition of their wretched country
is the nlore deplorable. They are all earnest in prayer,
and so given to bodily austerities as to need the bridle
rather than the spur.
U Twenty of their number have this year made the
Spiritual Exercises, withdrawing for a few days from the
company of their companions, to take an account of their
1 In Evelyn's Memoirs we find some remarks as to the English Society
of Rome at the time. when he was brought into contact with it. This
Society had two centres, so to speak, two poles of attraction: one was
the English College, near Piazza Farnese, then directed by English Jesuits;
the other was Cardinal Francesco Barberini, who, as Evelyn puts it, styled
himself "the Protector of the English," to whom he was indeed very
courteous.
The Jesuits were very hospitable to Evelyn, and on va;ious occasions
entertained him and Milton to dinner (f. Evelyn's Visit to Rome in 1644-5,
D. Sesoroni Roma, 1899).
19 2
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
past lives, and to meditate on the life and example of Christ,
as the model they are to copy in their future conduct.
They further seek out diverse methods of progressing in
virtue, of overcoming, for instance, the desire of esteem and
of making advance in humility. As prudent wrestlers they
seek by the practice of self-conquest in private, to fit them-
selves to encounter one day the implacable hatred of the
heretics, and thus more easily withstand their assaults and
their cruelty; in their self-imposed austerities having in
view the tortures that await them should they chance to
fall into the hands of those who are thirsting for their blood.
They ever bear in mind that they are a remnant snatched
from the ruin of their country, and gathered together here
by a special favour of Divine Providence to fit themselves
by virtue and learning to free England from the yoke of
heresy, even though the sword of the foe bar their path,
and their own life blood be the price they have to pay for
ransoming souls from the dark captivity of falsehood and
error. This is the constant topic of their domestic exhorta-
tions and sermons, as well as of their private conversation." 1
One thing that strikes the reader in turning over the
pages of the College Diary is the number of the students
of the College who either succumbed to the climate or had
to seek elsewhere for health. which made longer residence
in Rome impossible. It has already been pointed out that
Pope Gregory XIII fully recognised this, and in his generosity
sought a remedy by providing some place outside the city
for fresh air for the students; and so pressing did he con-
sider the need that he set aside one of the papal villas for
the purpose until he could procure some property adapted
for a country house for the students. This he quickly did,
and there are numerous notices of days spent in the vine-
yards, which had been purchased outside the walls of Rome,
in order to give to the English students the recreation and
exercise necessary for keeping them in health in a foreign
climate.
A notice of one of these places on the Palatine, which at
one time belonged to the English College. appears in a work
published in London in 1840. It is interesting to reproduce
it here. U Among other strange vicissitudes which have
1 Foley, Records, vi. p. 81.
PUBLIC DISPUTATIONS AND SERMONS 193
been witnessed by these now silent halls and roofless temples,
amid which we stand (i. e. on the Palatine), not the least
interesting is the fact that the splendid palace of the Cæsar,
who despoiled Caractacus and his countrymen of their
humble cottages in Britain, at length became the inheritance
of their exiled descendants in the sixteenth century; and
the Tricliniul1t of mighty Emperors was recently used as
a refectory for meek and unanlbitious students. In the
vestibule leading to the College dining-room I observed
some interesting portraits, and in spite of the dust and the
cobwebs which now overshadow them I was able to decypher
the following names: S. Gregorius A ngliæ A postolus.. S.
Thomas C antuariensis A rchiePiscopus .. Jacobus Tertius
Rex A ngliæ, H enricus Cardil1alis Eboracensis.
tI The painting, however, which more particularly
attracted my attention represented, over the entrance to
the chapel, a youth in the collegiate uniform holding a
scroll whereon was inscribed: · 0 Bone Jesu! converte
Angliam: humillime supplicat collegiunl Anglicanum de
Urbe.' But hither alas! the studious youth of Albion's
isle no longer come to pray for their country's conversion.
Even the comparatively modern chambers and convivial
halls have become the confused store rooms of a poor
gardener and his family, and the desecrated oratory is now
the squalid retreat of the birds of the air and the beasts of
the field." 1
1 Reminiscences of Rome, ii. p. 189, London, Jones, 1840.
At the present day the only remains of this house and garden be-
longing to the English College are two stone gate pillars on the road
opposite the old gas works, with the rose of England and the thistle of
Scotland carved on them.
Murray's Rome (1899, p. 92) has the following: .. Vigna del Collegio
Inglese on the S. slope of the Palatine (the Orti Roncioni or Castelli
formed part of the English College territory); in it stood the Septizonium.
It was entered through the Orti Roncioni (Stadium) and also from the
Circus Maximus through a house on the Via de' Cerchi. The semicircular
entrance to the Vigna from the C.M. is or was lately still standing and
I think there are roses and thistles on it."
II The Vigna del Collegio Inglese with the Palace of Severus was
bought in 1857 by Pius IX" (Murray, 1899, p. 92).
Mgr. Prior says that about ten years ago the last portion of the Vigna
was sold for the Passegiata Archæologica and that names of English College
students of the eighteenth century were to be seen on the walls of an
adjoining tower, since destroyed.
o
CHAPTER X
THE H PILGRIM BOOK"
WHEN Pope Gregory XIII erected the English College in
157 8 , he incorporated with his new foundation the old
Hospice of the Holy Trinity, St. Thomas and St. Edmund.
This ancient Institution had, as has been pointed out,
long been the centre of English life in the Eternal City,
and the place to which travellers from the British Isles
naturally found their way for counsel and aid. By the
old constitutions of its establishment poor people had a
right to claim food and lodging for a limited period of
eight days which in practice was often extended; and
even the rich had quarters in which they could claim to
sta y for a term of three days if they so wished. Beyond
this the authorities were very frequently called upon to
give substantial help in money and clothes, and even to
arrange for the lodging of poor pilgrims when for some
reason they could not be accommodated in the Hospice
itself .
Some of the information to be gathered from the early
Registers still existing in the College archives as to the
reception of travellers, etc., at the old Hospice has been
already given. After its incorporation with Pope Gregory
XIII's new foundation, although the obligation to receive
and succour English tra vellers and poor pilgrims is not
specially mentioned in the papal bull, from the first it was
understood that the duty, incun1bent upon the authorities
of the College, existed, and it was faithfully complied with.
In fact, and for nearly a hundred years from the erection
of the College, the Rectors kept a detailed list of all those
who had applied to them for help, or had been received
into the part of the building still reserved for the use of the
pilgrims. The interesting and precious volume, known
194
THE · PILGRIlI-1 BOOI{'
195
as the Pilgrim Book,1 contains the systematic entries
made as to the visitors entertained from 1580 to 1656,
and it is certain that some such register was kept subse-
quently, as one other small book records those from 1733
to 1768. The a verage yearly nun1ber of pilgrims was
apparently between thirty and forty, although in 1585
no fewer than sixty-nine were entertained by the College.
This number, although considerable, was by no means so
large as in the early part of the sixteenth century, when
of course England was wholly Catholic, and pilgrhns to
the Holy Shrines of Rome were more numerous. Thus,
In 1506 we find the record of 202 persons lodged or assisted
out of the funds of the old Hospice, and of these 147 were
poor pilgrims. Again in 1507 over two hundred, of whom
two-thirds were poor, including twenty Welsh strangers,
were entertained.
In the volume above referred to, and known as the
Pilgrim Book proper, are to be found many interesting
names of visitors to Rome in the latter half of the sixteenth
century and the first half of the seventeenth. This im-
portant record has been printed in the volume of the Jesuit
Records, which deals with the English College,2 and Brother
Foley, S.]., the editor, has given many interesting particulars
regarding some of the persons whose names are entered in
the register. Some of these may well be referred to in
this story of the College, and son1e additions may be made
of names, which are worth noting, but which the editor
does not specially mention.
II The entries," writes the editor, II display a very large
number of visitors of every rank and condition. Thus we
find the first entry in the book: 1580, December 29. The
illustrious Dom Thomas Arundel, an Englishman of the
Diocese of . . . was this day admitted as the first guest,
and ren1ained with us for three days." This was the cele-
brated Sir Thomas Arundell . . . surnamed the II Valliant,"
who distinguished himself by his daring bravery at the
battle of Gran, when he took with his own hands the famous
standard of l\iahomet, and was created a Count of the
1 English College. Archives. MS. 282.
2 Yo1. vi. (supplemental volume).
196 THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
Holy Roman Empire in 1595, and first Baron Arundell of
\Yardour in 1605. At the date of his visit to the English
Hospice, he was a youth travelling in Italy and other parts.
U We also meet with the Duke of Buckingham and his
suite; the Earls of Carnarvon, Devon, Bolingbroke and
his son, Lords St. John, Banbury, Stanhope, etc., the Lords
Berkeley, Petre (John), Paget, Compton, Kensington,
:Mowbray, Sherwood, Howard, Stafford (brother to the
Earl of Arundel), Hamilton, Herbert (John), son of the
Earl of Pembroke; Plantagenet (Henry), eldest (only) son
of Edward, the second
Iarquis of Worcester, regarding
whom a note is appended: '1649, December 20. This
most noble pilgrim came to us, and remained until February
the 14th following, affording a remarkable example to
all the College from his habit of constant prayer, spiritual
conversation and humility. On leaving us he thought of
proceeding to Jerusalem.'
U The name of the Crown Prince of Tunis also occurs.
He is stated to have fled away to Rome to be instructed
in the Catholic religion. The Hospice received likewise
many of the old Catholic families: e. g. Pole (Sir Geoffrey
Pole with his boyan exile), Paston, Consfield, Fortescue,
Yelverton, Shireburn, Walpole, Bedingfield, Gage, Digby,
etc., not to omit the son of the Protestant Bishop of
Chichester; a brother of the Secretary of the First Lord
f the Treasury; and a son of the Secretary of State. Per-
haps the most remarkable of the visitors to the Hospice
were the two poets, John Milton and Richard Crashaw.
U :Milton, on October 3 0 , 1638, became a guest and,
with the Hon. Mr. Carey, brother of Lord Falkland, Dr.
Holling of Lancashire and Mr. Fortescue, , English Gentle-
men,' dined with the Jesuit Fathers and students in the
College refectory. Milton was then making his travels
in Italy, which he commenced in 1637, upon the death of
his mother."
Richard Crashaw, after being expelled from Cambridge,
for refusing to sign U The Solemn League and Covenant,"
became a Catholic. He received letters of recommendation
to I tal y from Queen Henrietta Maria of England, then an
exile in Paris. On his arrival at Rome in the pilgrim's
THE . PILGRIM BOOK'
197
habit, he went to the Hospice, and the following entry
is in the Pilgrim Book: "Richard Crashaw, a pilgrim,
arrived November 28, 1646 and remained fifteen days in
the English Hospice." Among the names in this register
of pilgrims are many of those who had suffered, or were
to suffer for their religion. They came to Rome after
enduring prison, and, when banished from their native
country, in order to renew their fervour by visiting the
sacred places of the Eternal City. Youths intended for
the College frequently remained for a time in the Hospice,
until provision had been made for their beginning their
scholastic course, or permission had been obtained to place
them upon the Foundation, a matter which depended upon
the Cardinal Protector. Very frequently, indeed, guests
outstayed the lawful period, and it was sometimes impossible
to lodge all of them in the Hospice buildings. In this
latter case the poor strangers had their food in the house;
but their lodging was found for them in a neighbouring
place, which very frequently was a house called the" White
Cross," in the Piazza Farnese.
To take a few more examples of the interesting visitors
who came to the College in the first two centuries of its
existence: in the first year, namely 1581, a special record
was kept. Among the six-and-thirty people entertained,
besides Sir Thomas Arundell already noticed, was" the
illustrious Earl of Westmoreland-with three servants."
This was the last of the Nevilles, attainted for the northern
rebellion in 1569. On November 14, Sir Thomas Vavasour
of Hazlewood was a guest and remained eight days. This
was probably the famous Catholic knight who raised forces
and equipped vessels to defend Queen Elizabeth against
the Spanish Armada. I t is said that for his zeal the Queen
extended her protection to his chapel and would not suffer
the family to èe molested in the exercise of their religion.
The following year "Sir Geoffrey Pole with his son and
servant were received in the Hospice for ten days." He was
probably the son of the Countess of Salisbury and brother
of the Cardinal, who with his other brother, Lord Montague,
was condemned to death together with their n1other. Sir
Geoffrey falling sick was reprieved, but all his estates were
198
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROl t ;IE
confiscated. One of his children-we like to think it was
the boy named in the Pilgrim Book-once, by a threat
of instant death, forced a priest-hunter, who was in search
of him, to eat his own warrant and vow never again to
n10lest Catholics.
In 1583 several priests, afterwards martyrs in England
for the Faith, visited the Hospice, and at the same time-
that is in April-a notorious Government spy called James
Young found his way into the College. At first it is clear
that the authorities with charitable intent were too ready
to welcome all English strangers who sought admission
to the Hospice. Later on, however, it was specially ordered
that, whatever charity they might extend to the poor,
no one was to become a guest without producing letters of
introduction from some known person. In the September of
the same year, 1583, we find that one Stephen Brinckley was
a guest for ten days. This was the friend of Father Parsons,
who subsequently became a printer of his books at Rouen.
He had just been liberated from imprisonment in the Tower
of London, where he had for his companion one William
Carter. They are entered in a list, in March 1583, of
II Tower prisoners to pay their own (lyete" as: "Stephen
Brinckley and '\Villiam Carter, printers and disseminators
of Catholic books." Carter was executed at Tyburn for
his religion January II, 1584. Our Stephen Brinckley
before his imprisonment had helped Father Parsons to set
up: a private press at a house near Green Street, East Ham,
Essex, but it had soon to be broken up, and ren10ved else-
where. In June 1583 Brinckley was set free and came to
Rome with Father Parsons. After this he retired to Rouen
and took the place of George Flinton the former Catholic
printer there, who died at this time.
The following year the name of Richard Verstigen, the
well-known author of The Restitution of Decayed Intelligences,
catches the eye in the list of guests received. In 15 8 5
and 1586 several of the seventy-two priests who had been
exiled for their religion in the former year found their way
to Rome. One of them was Edmund Sykes of Yorkshire,
who on his return to England was again captured, and died
for the Catholic faith at York, :March 23, 1587. Another
THE · PILGRIM BOOK'
199
was Eustasius \Vhite, who also received the martyr's crown
in 1591 ; and a third was Robert J\.lorton, who was afterwards
hanged in Lincoln's Inn Fields in 1598. In 159 8 some of the
guests remained for much longer than the statutes allowed;
one was entertained for forty-eight days, another for fifty-
eight and another for seventy-two. This breach of the
regulations was constantly being condelnned, since the
charity of the superiors seemed to know no bounds, and
frequently landed thern into debt.
I t would be interesting to have more particulars of some
of the travellers than we can glean from the notes given
in the Pilgrim Book. For instance, who was the musician
described as a priest of Herefordshire? He was named
William Davis, and came on November 29, 1600, and was
immediately appointed Prefect of the Choir. Who, again,
was l\1r. Winter of Worcestershire, who came in 1601 and
stayed thirteen days? He was probably Robert Winter,
or Wintour, who suffered death on account of the Gunpowder
Plot in 1605; but it would be satisfactory to know whether
this is so; and, if so, whether he gave the spelling of his
name as "'Tinter and not Wintour. Only once is his name
spelled by himself Winter. The Government plotter
always used that form, but Wintour himself never, except
in the one document of his supposed confession, to which
is appended the signature Cl Winter" in place of his habitual
Cl Wintour."
On the feast of St. Thomas of Canterbury, the Patron
of the College and Hospice, it was and is the custom to
invite the English residents in Rome to dinner. Sometimes
there were forty or more guests on the occasion. For
instance, in 1629 there is this entry on December 29:
Cl To-day all the English in Rome were received to dinner,
among whom were about eight noble laymen, four of whom
(then Protestants) were shortly afterwards admitted to
the College for the sake of conversion." At one of these
feasts, as we have already noted, Evelyn was a guest.
In 16 35 there is the following record: Cl Petty, :Mr.,
Decen1ber 12th. Being sent to Italy by the King and the
Earl of Arundel, to search for ancient documents, dined
in the Refectory with J\.1r. Knowles:' The Earl of Arundel
200 THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
referred to here must have been Henry Howard, fourth
Earl., and he was then engaged in adding to the wonderful
collection of MSS. formed by his father the sixth Duke
of Norfolk. He gave a portion of the collection to the
College of Arms, and others, at the suggestion of EvelYn,
to the Royal Society, which subsequently sold them to the
British Museum, where the collection is known as It The
Arundel Manuscripts." It is very interesting to find the
English Hospice connected with the antiquarian employed
to gather these MSS. treasures for the Earl of Arundel,
and to enrich the Royal collection of King James I.
The following year, 1636, three distinguished Englishmen
were entertained at dinner on October 5. The first was
Sir George Ent, called in the Pilgrim Book, Entie, the
physician, who, after studying at Cambridge, spent five
years at Padua, where he graduated M.D., April 28, 1636,
and who later became one of the original Fellows of the
Royal Society. \Vith him at the English College was
Sir \Villiam Greaves-(Graves in the Pilgrim Book)-
the astronomer and Orientalist, who had been a fellow-
student with Ent at Padua, and the more celebrated Dr.
William Harvey, the discoverer of the circulation of the
blood, who is described in the Register as It :M.D. to the
King of England." All three were life-long friends. Dryden
has commemorated the friendship of Harvey and Ent;
and Harvey by his will left Ent five pounds to buy a mourning
ring.
In 1637, on the 1st of April, there is the following entry
as to a visit from the well-known writer of the account of
the state of Catholics in England at this time: It Panzani,
Gregory, Dom, returning from England, whither he had
been sent by Cardinal Barberini, was invited to the College,
and politely accepted it." On October 26, the following
year, John 1iilton, the poet, was a guest of the College.
His fr
end in Rome was Lucas Holstenius, who had been
at Oxford and London, and who, after being converted
to the Catholic faith, became secretary to Cardinal Barberini
when Papal Nuncio at Paris, and came with him to Rome
in 1627. On March 30, 1639, five months after his arrival
in Rome, :Milton wrote to Holstenius about the kindness
THE f PILGRLM BOOK'
201
sho\\Jn hhn by Cardinal Barberini, U who gave a public
musical entertainment with truly Roman n1agnificence,
he himself waiting at the doors, and seeking me out in
so great a crowd, nay almost laying hold of me by the hand,
adnlÏtted me within in a truly Inost honourable manner."
Particular instances of the interesting and Ï1nportant
English visitors to the College to be found in the Pilgrim
Book could be multiplied to almost any extent. The
above, however, are sufficient to show how, even after
the severance of England from Rome in the sixteenth
century, the English College and its Hospice continued
to be the centre of national life in the Eternal City. It
was regarded as the natural place to which all travellers
from the British Isles found their way.
A later book contains notes of visitors from 1733 to 177I.
The records in it are not so well kept as previously, and
in fact there is a note therein to say that there had been
great carelessness in keeping up the entries; but it is obvious
that the same abundant charity was dispensed by the
authorities as in earlier times. In these years a great
number of people sought for help after having COlne to the
C onverfendi to be instructed in the Catholic religion and
after their reception into the Church. The practice is
also seen to have been kept up of sending poor people, who
could not be actually received into the Hospice, to lodge
in the U White Cross," in the Piazza Farnese.
With regard to the guests received at the old Hospice,
a manuscript, still in the College archives. records the
gratitude of one such in the fifteenth century. This :MS.
is a volume containing the poetical works of John Lydgate.
and at the end of it there is written: U This ys Richard
Turnbyll is boke. record of l\lr. Carne (?) and :Mary :l\Iore
of the hospitalitie in Rome. Wry ten the first day of
marriage." Bound up with these poems is a long tract
upon animals and hunting dedicated to Prince Henry.
son of King Henry IV. afterwards King Henry V.
One of the last of the English to be buried in the College
was the young daughter of Henry Swinburne. whose epitaph
is still seen in the church. This is printed in full by Hare
(Tralks in Rome. ii. p. 167), but there is some mistake about
202
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
the date of her father's birth, as given in the Dictionary
0/ National Biograþhy. According to the inscription,
composed in English by It disconsolate parent," this young
lady must have been a very extraordinary person. Her
name was :Martha, and she was born October 10, 1758,
and died in Rome September 8, 1767, or, as the brief Latin
inscription says, 1768; which would make her nine or ten
years old. Still, as the inscription has it: .. Her years
were few, but her life was long and full. She spoke English,
French and Italian and had n1ade some progress in the
Latin tongue; she knew English and Roman histories,
arithmetic and geography; sang the most difficult music
at sight with one of the finest voices in the world, was a
great proficient on the harpsichord, wrote well and danced
many sorts of dances with strength and elegance," etc.!
1 His Lordship the Bishop of Clifton on this writes: " I only lately
discovered, wrulst reading the greatest authority on Latin epigraphy,
Morcelli (De stUo inscriþtionum Latinarum, Rome, 17 80 , p. 414), that
he rumself, at the request of Giovanni Senetti, the little girl's tutor, had
composed for her a Latin epitaph in iambic verse, containing much the
same matter as the English one, but of course a much finer composition.
We learn from it that her mother's name was Baker, and a Thomas
Gascoigne is introduced as companion of the family's travels." The
difficulty of reconciling the dates of the inscription with those given in
the Dict. oj Nat. Biography cannot be got over. Henry Swinburne is
there said to have been born in 1743 and to have married, as his second
wife, Martha Baker, on March 24, 1767- It would be consequently im-
possible for him to have a daughter born in 1758. But the date of his
birth is certainly wrong, as he is said to have married his first wife in
17 2 1. He must have married his second wife and the mother of the
prodigy buried in the English College Church in 1757, and not in 1767 as
the Dictionary states, Sir Thomas Gascoigne was the travelling com-
panion of the family from 177 6 .
CHAPTER XI
DESTRUCTION AND RECONSTRUCTION
IN 179B the English College practically ceased to exist, and
it remained desolate and empty for some twenty years. The
previous year Pope Pius VI was compelled by Napoleon,
at the Peace of Tolentino, to surrender Avignon, Ferrara,
Bologna and the Romagna. In an attempt to revolutionise
Ron1e, the French General Dupont was shot at and killed,
whereupon the French took Rome on February 10, 179B,
and proclaimed the Roman Republic. Because the Pope
refused to submit, he was forcibly taken from Rome in the
night of February 20 and carried off to Florence. There
he remained for a year, when he became seriously ill, and
in this state was hurried over the Alps to Valence, where
he died before he could be removed further. His successor
was elected at Venice in the person of Cardinal Chiaramonte,
and crowned Supreme Pontiff on March 21, 1Boo, under
the name of Pius VII. The new Pope managed to return
to Rome on July 3 of the same year.
For the next eight years the life of the Holy Father in
the Eternal City was one of extreme difficulty, and he was
unable to reorganise the ecclesiastical establishments of the
Eternal City which had suffered under the French republican
régime. So the English national College amongst others
remained closed.
On March 16, 1BoB, Cardinal Cassoni, Secretary of State,
published at Rome the following notice: U His Holiness
Pius VII, being unable to conform to all the demands made
on him by the French Government. . . as they are con-
trary to his sacred duties and the dictates of his conscience;
and being thus compelled to submit to the disastrous
consequences which have been threatened and to the military
occupation of his capital in case he should not submit to
such demands. . . places his cause in the hands of the
20 3
20 4
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
Almighty, etc." Accordingly the same day General Miollis
took possession of Rome at the head of 5000 or 6000 French
troops and located some 30,000 men throughout the Ponti-
fical States.
A year later on May 17, 1809, a decree was published
annexing all the Papal States and the city of Rome itself
to the French Empire; the change of Government being
formally proclaimed in Rome on June 10.1 One of the
main causes of the Holy Father's troubles was his refusal,
at Napoleon's demand, to shut his ports against English
ships and to exile all the English resident in Rome, and so
the English generally, and the English College in particular,
were made to feel the effect of the Emperor's anger. One
of the first acts of the Republican authorities in Rome was
directed against this National Institution. A commissary
was appointed, and he forthwith closed the College, and
proceeded to deal with the property. The Abbey of Saviano
at Piacenza, which had been given by the Pope for the
support of the establishment, was sold for 150,000 scudi
and the money confiscated; the College itself was sacked 2
and part of the property sold or otherwise disposed of. The
archi ves, however, were sa ved through the action of a
faithful friend who carried them off and hid them. "Vhen
better days returned and the establishment was once more
opened to the English students, the precious documents
were restored, and long afterwards the family of this faithful
friend received from the College a pension as a small reward
for his service in this matter. Meanwhile the Italian
Superiors had been sent away, and the English students,
who were then only sixteen in number, were at the sanle
time dispatched to England. The buildings of the College
after this were used first as barracks for the French soldiers,
then as General Quarters for Murat's troops, and later as
a place for the local police, and they were utilised for similar
public purposes and offices until the return of the Pope
from his captivity in France in 1814.
His Lordship the Bishop of Clifton sends me the
1 Cf. Ward's Eve of Catholic Emancipation, i. p. 223.
2 Fr. John Connolly, Q,P. (afterwards second Bishop of New York),
wrote to Bishop Plunkett of Meath in March 1798, saying: U The French
have seized on and sold everything belonging to the English and Scots
Colleges here" (quoted by Fr. Nolan, The Basilica of S. Clemente, p. 13 0 ).
DESTRUCTION AND RECONSTRUCTION 20 5
following interesting extract from a Diary he kept when
he was in the Venerabile in 1886. It contains many par-
ticulars about the inscriptions, etc., saved from the ruins
of the old church of the College when the English again
obtained possession of the buildings, or what remained of
them.
cc Three-quarters of an hour interesting converse with
the Rector in the new church.
cc InscriPtions , etc.-These were mostly smashed during
the French occupation, when the College became a barracks.
During the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy, when the College
became a Court of Law, Prince Aldobrandíni carried off the
greater part of the fragmentary nlarbles that lay about.
cc Cardinal \Viseman collected what relics of interest
survived, and stored them in what is now the Reception
room.
" Mgr. O'Callaghan rescued part of an inscription or so
from the Aldobrandini Villa on the Quirinal.
cc A copy of the Inscriptions had been made by one
of the old generation of students, Mr. Kirk 1 (of Lichfield) ;
of this copy he made a transcript and sent it to our Rector.
Mr. Kirk was then a very old man. From this and with
the aid of documents in the Vatican, the Rector reproduced
the inscriptions as they are now seen in the church.
cc Bodies.-These were exhumed by some predecessor
of the Rector, when the foundations of the present church
(some twenty feet deep) were dug. They arc now kept in
two loculi in the Crypt, just beneath the Dereham nlonu-
ment, and over them is the leaden coffin of Sir Thos.
Dereham himself."
About the year 1821, Dr. Gradwell gave the following
account of his work for the restoration of the College, of
which he became Rector in March 1818: "One of the
first cares of the Supreme Pontiff after his return to Rome
was to restore the Institutions that had been suppressed or
taken from their pious uses during the days of anarchy.
The English Prelates, when congratulating the Holy Father
1 John Kirk of Salop was born in 1760 and came to the College in
1773, being actually the last scholar received by the Jesuit Superiors just
before they handed over the government to secular priests, after having
governed it for the long period of 193 years.
206
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROftfE
on his liberation and return, recommended to his paternal
heart the re-establishment of the English College under the
government of national Superiors.
U The Pope gave them a favourable reply, and com-
missioned the Cardinal Protector, Braschi, to write a report
on the matter, and Cardinal Litta, Prefect of Propaganda,
to comnlunicate with the English Bishops."
There were still difficulties, the nature of which appears
in a letter written to Cardinal Consalvi from London on
November 13, I81!. Sir John Coxe Hippisley thus speaks
of the National Colleges in Rome: U Allow me, mon cher
ami, to tell you, with my usual frankness, what I think
about the affairs of our national Colleges. Your Eminence
knows well that I have for many years been occupied in
requests about these. I received from the late Venerable
Pontiff, the most solemn promises that the restoration of
the same government which subsisted in the tinles of the
Jesuits, should not again be established. I find at present
that though national Superiors are to be appointed, these
are for education only, and others are to take charge of the
temporalities of these colleges. You know very well, mon
cher ami, that this was not so in the time of the English
Jesuits, and I doubt whether it would be possible to find
any respectable persons to take charge of the education of
the scholars, under these conditions. The nomination of
an Italian Procurator would become absolutely useless. . . .
The Procurator would probably absorb the pension of four
students. The auditor of the Cardinal Protector of each
college is a sufficient check upon the administration of the
national Superiors. Allow me to say that this Imperium
in Imperio would be most disadvantageous and odious. If
I could have foreseen this I would have spared myself many
years of trouble; pardon me if I say confidentially to you
that I am astonished that any Cardinal Protector could
desire for the appointment of such a Procurator to place
himself in opposition to the united wishes of all the clergy
of the three kingdoms, and try to impose his view upon
the paternal soul of His Holiness, by annulling the true
spirit of the promises, which his worthy Predecessor made
me, and which I have often cited to our Government, as a
proof of the noble sentiments of yours."
BISHOP GRADWELL
[To face þ. 207
DESTRUCTION AND RECONSTRUCTION 20 7
Bishop Ward writes that a scheme was at this tinle put
forward U that Milner (who was at this time in Rome)
should become Rector of the English College, which it was
hoped soon to re-open. Cardinal Braschi was still the
· Protector.' He had for many years been paralysed in
his lower limbs, and was unable to take much active share
in business. The proj ect of re-opening the College in fact
emanated fronl Cardinal Litta." 1 But Dr. Gradwell, who
had the best possible means of knowing the facts,
considered that the project had come from the English
Bishops and the Holy Father himself. Dr. Milner had
apparently no wish to take the office of Rector, and sug-
gested to the Roman authorities the name of the Rev.
Stephen Green, and Dr. Poynter, who was consulted, pro-
posed the Rev. William Wilds of Warwick Street, or the
Rev. John Lingard.
Propaganda asked for special information about the
Rev. Stephen Green, then missionary at Greenwich, but his
failing health made his appointment as Rector of the
English College in Rome impossible, and in fact he died
shortly after his name had been suggested by Dr. Milner,
a Ie martyr of charity." Cardinal Litta's letter on the sub-
ject is dated July r3, r8r4; but nothing was concluded
until in April r8r7 the Protector, Cardinal Braschi, died, and
the jurisdiction of Cardinal Galeffi, a relation of Braschi
whom the Pope had appointed to act during his illness,
came to an end.
In r8r7, however, the Pope told Cardinal Consalvi to
write at once to the English Bishops, bidding them make
choice of some priests, who had their full confidence, to take
the post of Rector of the English College. They chose the
Rev. Robert Gradwell, who started for Rome in September,
and reached the Eternal City after a perilous journey only
on November 3, r8r7. He temporarily took up his lodging
at the Scots' College. At first there were rumours that the
Jesuits desired once more to return to the Government of
the Venerabile, and Dr. Gradwell evidently believed that
there was truth in the reports. But the Pope assured him
that no petition to that effect had been received, and he
was quickly assured that he would be nominated at once
1 Eve of Catholic Emancipation, ii. p. 112.
208
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROlvIE
and be given possession of the establishment, and in fact
on
larch 8, 1818, he received from the Cardinal Secretary
of State the Biglietto of his nomination.
"The building," says Dr. Gradwell, U was empty, and
only bare walls were left standing. The financial state of
the College was in great confusion and only 3000 scudi were
left in the bank, which was promptly invested." More than
a year's income of the College had at once to be spent on
restoration and necessary repairs, and the first care of the
new Rector was to secure the payment of back rents, to let
the houses belonging to the College to the best advantage,
to diminish all useless and unnecessary expenses and to
furnish the College as far as was necessary.
The Rector had many difficulties to contend with at
first. The Italian officials who had been administering the
College property previously-the esattore or rent collector
and the computista or accountant-resented the appoint-
ment of an Englishman and placed many obstacles in his
way. U They retained the administration of the finances
and even claimed the right of controlling the domestic
arrangements, so that on one day the Rector returning
home found that the cook had been dismissed and there
was no one to prepare his dinner. He hesitated whether
to be angry or amused. He had of course to appeal to
Cardinal Consalvi, and Sir John Coxe Hippisley also wrote,
and matters were adjusted by the handing over the financial
administration to the Rector." 1
To con1memorate this new foundation a memorial
tablet was erected in the College.
MEMORIÆ
Pn VII PONT. MAX.
QUOD COLLEGIUM ANGLORUM
A GREGORIO XIII, P.M.
PRIMITUS CONSTITUTUM
URBE AUTEM A GALUS OCCUPATA
ANTE AN. XX DISSOLUTUM
ANNO MD.CCCXVIII RESTITUERIT
EIDEMQUE AD VOTUM NATIONIS EIUSDEM
RECTOREM DE CLERO IpslUS PRÆFECERIT
HERCULE CONSALVO, S.E.R. CARD. COLLEGIO PATRONO
ANGUÆ EPISCOPI ET CLERUS
GRATI ANIMI CAUSA.
1 Blshop \Vard, Eve of Catholic Emanciþatioll, iii. p. 8.
DESTRUCTION AND RECONSTRUCTION 209
Cardinal Consalvi, after practically filling the office for
two years, became Protector of the College in 1819. His
deputati, or official counsellors of the Protector, according
to the law visited the College at frequent intervals, and
interfered considerably during the first years until, through
Dr. Poynter, Cardinal Consalvi arranged matters more
satisfactorily. At this time the net revenue of the estab-
lishment was 7486 scudi or thereabouts.
Cardinal Consalvi took a practical interest in the College.
In spite of his overwhelming work as Secretary of State
at this period of reconstruction, he found tinle to superintend
the framing the Constitutions, by which the re-established
Pontifical College was to be governed, and in the first years
when he held the office of Cardinal Protector, he attended
the regular nlOnthly meetings of the authorities and deþu-
tati, at which the most minute details were discussed and
settled, and his signature may still be seen in the Minute
Book authenticating the proceedings.
One of the first acts of Dr. Gradwell after his instalnlent
was to write to the English Bishops begging them to send
out students. It was agreed that all who came out should
be sufficiently advanced to enter the philosophical course,
and it was determined that no tuition should be undertaken
in the house itself, but that all should attend the lectures
at the Roman College, now known as the Gregorian Uni-
versity. In this determination of Cardinal Consalvi there
was a return to the original Constitution of the College by
its founder, Pope Gregory XIII. The Vicars-Apostolic,
with the exception of Dr. Milner, all entered heartily into
the scheme, and in December 1818 ten students were
dispatched from England, five from the Northern District,
four from London and one from the 'Vest.
Among the five fronl the North was Nicholas Wiseman,
a student of Ushaw, the future Cardinal whose name and
fame will ever be associated with the Venerabile. In the
English College archives is the letter to introduce young
Wiseman, written by the Rev. G. Brown, secretary to
Bishop Gibson. After a few words about another of the
band of students, Mr. Henry Gillow, a member of the
well-known Lancashire family, he writes: II that Nicholas
\Viseman is another fixed upon to accompany him, if his
p
210 THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROJ.UE
health will permit, or to follow as soon as he can travel.
This young man may truly be pronounced above all praise.
His talents are unrivalled in Ushaw College, his piety is
fervent and solid, and his character as a Christian scholar
quite without fault. He is of a good fatnily, and though
quite independent in his circulnstances, has voluntarily
devoted hin1self to the English Mission. . . . When they
ha ve become a little accustomed to the Roman schools,
I think Mr. Wiseman will not fear to enter the lists with
any Italian that can stand forth against hin1." 1
The students set out on October 2, ISIS, from Liverpool
in a ship bound for Leghorn. Cardinal \ìViseman in his
Recollections of the Last Four Popes has given a brief account
of this protracted and at times dangerous voyage which
extended over several weeks. The ship was expected to
reach its Italian port in November, and the Rector of the
College, Dr. Gradwell, who desired to introduce his first
students to Italy, was waiting for them impatiently at
Leghorn. After vainly expecting them for several weeks,
business recalled him to Rome, and it was not till the
middle of December that the news of their safe arrival
was received. On the ISth of the month the first party
arrived, followed the next day by the rest of the ten.
Cardinal Wiseman has described his first impression of
the College. II One felt at once at home," he wrote, "it
was English ground, a part of the fatherland, a restored
inheritance." 2 The spacious buildings struck the imagina-
tion of the new-comers, and" the library with its books
piled up in disorder, and the whole house bore evidence of
not having been inhabited for nearly the space of a genera-
tion. The old Church of the Holy Trinity, which had
formed part of the ancient Hospice, out of which the College
had been formed, was still standing, though its roof was
gone. The old altarpiece, a painting by Durante Alberti,
representing the Holy Trinity and the two patrons of the
College, St. Edmund the King and Martyr and St. Thomas
of Canterbury, still occupied its place among the sur-
rounding desolation. The College church had been' illumi-
1 Bishop Ward, Eve of Catholic Emanciþation, iii. p. II.
2 W. 'Yard, Life of Cardinal Wiseman, i. p. 15.
DESTRUCTION AND RECONSTRUCTION 211
nated from floor to roof with the Saints of England.' It
was something to see, that first day, a spot revisited by
English youths, where many an English pilgrim, gentle or
simple, had knelt leaning on his trusty staff cut in N eedwood
or the New Forest; where many a noble student from
Bologna or Padua had prayed as he had been lodged and
fed in forma pauperis, when before returning home he came
to visit the tomb of the Apostles. . . . Around lay scattered
memorials of the past. One splendid monument erected
to Sir Thomas Dereham, at the bottom of the church, was
entirely walled up and so invisible. There were traces,
too, of the havoc wrought by the French invaders of '98.
Shattered and defaced lay the richly effigied tombs of an
Archbishop of York and a Prior of Worcester, and of many
other English worthies; while sadder wreckage of the
recent storm was piled up on one side-the skull and bones
of perhaps Cardinal Allen, Father Parsons and others
whose coffins had been dragged up from below and con-
verted into munitions of war. And if there needed a living
link between the young generation at the door and the old
one that had passed into the crypt of that venerable church,
there it was in the person of the more than octogenarian
porter Vincenzo, who stood, all salutation from the wagging
appendage to his grey head to the large silver buckles on
his shoes, mumbling toothless welcomes in an as yet almost
unknown tongue, but full of humble joy and almost
patriarchal affection on seeing the haunts of his own youth
repeopled. JJ 1
No attempt was made to repair the ruined church of the
College for obvious reasons, the chief of which was the
want of means; but the old Sodality chapel afforded ample
accommodation for the students, and was already prepared
for their use on their arrival. In 1847 Cardinal Wiseman
wrote of this spot so sacred to his memory from the begin-
ning of his scholastic course in Rome: II The first altar
at which I knelt in the Holy City was that of our glorious
St. Thomas of Canterbury. There I returned thanks for
the great blessing of being admitted among his children.
For two-and-twenty years I daily knelt before the lively
1 W. 'yard, Life of Cardinal Wiseman, i. p. 16.
212
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
representation of the bread of life. . . . He was n1Y pattern,
my father, my model. Daily have I prayed him and do
pray him to give me his spirit of fortitude, to fight the
battles of the Church, if necessary, to the shedding of
blood." 1
A few days after their arrival in Rome, the new students
were taken by the Rector, Dr. Gradwell, to have an audience
with the Pope Pius VII. It was the Eve of Christmas
and the Rector made the following note in the College
Diary: <<December 24. Took six students to the Pope.
The other four could not be clothed. The Holy Father
received them standing, shook hands with each, and wel-
comed them to Rome. He praised the English clergy for
their good and peaceful conduct, and their fidelity to the
Holy See. He exhorted the youth to learning and piety,
and said: ' I hope you will do honour both to Rome and to
your country.' .,
It is interesting to record the impression made on
Cardinal Wiseman by this memorable visit. <<It will
easily be conceived," he writes in his Recollections of the
Last Four Popes, <<that our hearts beat with more than
usual speed . . . as we ascended the great staircase of
the Quirinal Palace on Christmas Eve. . . . After passing
through the magnificent sala regia you proceed through a
series of galleries adorned with fine old tapestry and other
works of art, though furnished with the greatest simplicity.
The last of these was the antechamber to the room occupied
by the Pope. After a short delay we were summoned to
enter this-a room so small that it scarcely allowed space
for the usual genuflections at the door and in the middle
of the apartment. But instead of receiving us as was
customary-seated-the mild and amiable Pontiff had
risen to welcome us and meet us as we approached. He
did not allow it to be a mere presentation or visit of cere-
mony. . . . Whatever we had read of his gentleness, con-
descension and sweetness of his speech, his manner and his
expression was fully justified, realised and made personal. . . .
The friendly and almost national grasp of the hand. . .
after due homage had been willingly paid. . . between
1 W. Ward, Life of Cardinal Wiseman, i. p. 45.
THE COLLEGE STAIRCASE
, I I
[To f
ce p. 213.
DESTRUCTION AND RECONSTRUCTION 213
the Head of the Church, venerable for his hoary age and
a youth who had nothing even to promise; . . . the first
exhortation on entering a course of ecclesiastical study;
these surely formed a double tie, not to be broken but
rather strengthened by every subsequent experience."
Immediately after this visit to the Pope, on the feast
of St. Thomas of Canterbury, the fornlal inauguration of
the College was celebrated with great pomp and ceremony.
Nine Cardinals, including Cardinals Litta, Somaglia, Gregorio
Doria, etc., were present at a High Mass, which was sung
by the Pope's own choir. U The altar furniture was lent
from the Corsini Chapel at St. John Lateran," and many
English-speaking visitors were present.
Bishop Ward 1 gives an excellent account of the first
beginnings of the College from the time of the arrival of the
students at the end of 1818. From this a long quotation
may here be permitted. U During the first few weeks, the
interest and excitement of their new life, and the sight-
seeing in the Eternal City, provided occupation and interest
for the new students. After a few months, the Rev. Robert
Varley, formerly Prefect at St. Edmund's, arrived to fill
the post of Vice-Rector; but his health giving way, he was
supplanted by the Rev. William White, from the Northern
District.
U As time went on the monotony of the life asserted itself,
and the students grew d.iscontented. They resented their
daily walks to and from lectures, to which in former times
the students had not been subjected, contending that in
the heat of sumlner it was a trial to their health, and called
out for tuition within the College. They likewise felt
aggrieved at having to walk out in < Camerata,' as it is
called in Ron1e, although this was only insisted upon in
a modified form, complained also < of various restrictions
incidental to a college in a city.' < They would wish to
have the privilege of strolling two and two in the Metro-
polis,' Gradwell writes, < as they would in the lanes and
fields at Ushaw and Old Hall. This is impossible. . . it
is quite contrary to all ideas of propriety at Rome, and for
reasons not very obvious, perhaps, to good lads, would be
1 Eve of Catholic Emancipation, iii. p. 13 seqq.
,
214 THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROJ1E
the road to ruin. But, instead of walking out with one
or two Italian priests for prefects, two of the eldest are
dressed da Abate and they go in two bodies every after-
noon, and on some days in the n1orning, where they
will. '
U The feeling of discontent became acute and culminated
in what Dr. Gradwell described as a t mutiny' in I8zo.
It would seem, however, that he attached rather too much
importance to it. The t mutineers' did not proceed to
greater lengths than refusing one day to go to St. Peter's
in t Camerata' and staying at home in preference. Their
unwillingness to go out did not last very long, but the
question of attending the Roman College for lectures was
agitated more seriously, for the Rector was half-inclined
to be of the same opinion as the students. To us indeed
it appears that most of the advantage of a Roman training
would have been lost had they ceased to attend the public
lectures, and that the various evils attached to a small
isolated educational establishment would have arisen. It
would have ceased to be a college for higher studies, and
recuced itself to the level which it was at before the
Revolution.
U Such was Consalvi's feeling, and also Dr. Poynter's.
The latter wrote in this sense to the Cardinal Protector,
and the matter was so settled in November I82I. The
students were exempted from writing t dictates: but
continued to attend the public lectures, and entered for the
t Concorso.'
U Notwithstanding their objection to going to the public
lectures, however, the English students were exceedingly
successful in their' work and established a reputation for
the Collegium Ve1lerabile, the tradition of which has never
been lost. Dr. Gradwell wrote to Dr. Poynter on November
5, I820, with pardonable pride, describing the success of his
students, in the following terms :-
II t In Dogma Henry Gillow got a medal, John Kearns
laudatus mnplissimis verbis. In Moral Theology William
Kavanagh got the medal. In Physico-Mathematics Wise-
man and Kavanagh tied for the medal. Proxime accessl:t
James Sharples. Daniel Rock landatus amPÜssimis verbis.
DESTRUCTION AND RECONSTRUCTION 215
In Physico-Chemistry Wiseman got the second medal.
Proxime accessit James Sharples and Daniel Rock.
H' All Rome is astonished at the performances of our
students in the Concorso,- a parcel of lads, strangers, our
divines only in their first year, and competing with forty
Italians who were finishing their fourth; our philosophers
moreover composing their essays in Italian, and still
bearing away the prizes in a language in which they are
imperfectly skilled; and most of all poor Kavanagh,! one
of the youngest competitors, bearing away two prizes, is
considered as a prodigy unexampled in the Academic
history. The prize is a medal with the profile of the Pope,
and on the reverse the Collegio Romano.'
"Dr. Gradwell proceeds to describe the nature of the
COllcorso or examination; which was then much what it
IS now:-
" , The C oncorso is this. Before the end of the year the
Cardinal Prefect of Studies either by lot or choice selects
fifteen questions from the treatise under studies, and some
weeks before gives notice that a con corso will be held on
one of these fifteen questions. On the day appointed, all
the students who ha ve the courage to contend meet in
their school. Each one is provided with pen, ink and
paper, but without any books or notes. The particular
question is then declared. Each conlpetitor then begins
a dissertation on the subject. Five hours are allowed,
but no communication with any other person is permitted
to the candidate. At the expiration of the five hours, each
one gives up his composition to the master. The first and
second best compositions win a medal; the third is laudatus
a111þlissimis verbis.. the rest are classed according to merit,
tenth, twentieth, fortieth, etc. Any place before the tenth
is reckoned a great honour.'
" In the following year the Pope, to show his appreciation
of the work of the College, conferred on the Rector the
honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity.
" The summit of their success was reached three years
later, when Mr. Wiseman, the future Cardinal, was chosen
1 Mr. Kavanagh, who belonged to the \Vcstern District, died at the
College on Sept. 18, 1820.
216
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
to perform a ' public act.' He had acquired a great reputa-
tion as a scholar. During his first year, when the custon1
was revived that an English student should preach before
the Pope on St. Stephen's Day, the student chosen having
begged to be excused, Mr. Wiseman supplied for him at
short notice and discharged the duty with distinction.
Later on he became noted for his industry in Oriental
studies, and Dr. Gradwell records that he had written out
a large section of the Bible in Hebrew. When it becan1e
known that he was chosen as a candidate for the highest
academic distinction, his performance was looked forward
to with universal interest. Dr. Gradwell writes on July I3,
I824:-
" 'Mr. Wiseman's public defensions at St. Ignatius's
are fixed for \Vednesday next. They have excited great
expectations in Rome. I am confident he will acquit himself
in superior style, to the honour both of the Roman College
and ours.'
"The result fulfilled the highest anticipations. Dr.
Gradwell describes it in full in a further letter a week
later :-
'" On Wednesday Mr. \Viseman defended at the Roman
College his 400 theses of divinity. It is universally admitted
that it was the most arduous, most able and most splendid
defension that the Roman College had seen for many years,
and has redounded very much to the honour of the Roman
College as well as our own. In the morning he defended
two hours and a half in the saloon against eight doctors,
who successively disputed in the presence of a large con-
course of professors, priests, religious and students from
different Colleges and n10nasteries in Rome. I never
before saw half the number at any former defension.
" , But the performance in the afternoon was the most
splendid. It was held in the church of St. Ignatius. Cardinal
Zurla sat on the throne, facing the disputant. A circle was
forn1ed extending the whole breadth of the nave. In this
first circle were thirty-two prelates, among whom were
twelve Patriarchs, Archbishops or Bishops in pontifical
dress and about twenty doctors of divinity including the
professors of the Roman College and myself, all in their
DESTRUCTION A]O.;D RECONSTRUCTION 21 7
long robes. The second and third and other rows behind
were miscellaneous, containing many distinguished persons,
particularly ecclesiastics, but not in costume. . . . It was
like a Roman Council. The Abbé Lamennius who was
then in Rome was to have objected. but he excused himself,
and said that in such an assembly he could not say four
words.
H , Elevated in the middle at a desk or pulpit, with the
Professors Piatti and Fornari, one on each side. a step lower
than the defendant, :Mr. Wiseman began by reading the
dedication of the thesis, which was addressed to Cardinal
Zurla, and then disputed about an hour and a half against
the three most celebrated Professors of Sapienza, on the
Primacy of St. Peter, the necessity of Baptism and the
three \Vitnesses, i. e. the integrity of the text. He spoke
with a composure, a clearness, a fluency and depth which
charmed everybody. After the third dispute was closed,
Cardinal Zurla rose, clapped his hands and applauded. The
whole assembly did the same. Several Prelates. my par-
ticular friends, and others whom I invited. among whom
was the Curé de Genève, all the Professors and some of
the students of the Roman College and all our own College
adjourned into the saloon. where the defensions were held
in the morning, to see the laurea conferred on the defendant.
Cardinal Pacca, Prefect of Studies, had authorised by
rescript the Professor of Scripture, who ranks as the first
professor in the College. to confer on :Mr. Wiseman the
Doctorship of Divinity extra temþus. Mr. Wiseman knelt
down at an altarino, made the profession of Faith of Pius IV,
and swore not to teach heterodoxy. received the cap, the
ring, the embrace of the Doctors and sat down Doctor of
Divinity.
H { The whole passed off with the greatest éclat and has
given great satisfaction throughout Rome. The Professors
and friends of the Roman College speak of this defension
with triumph. as a proof that they know how to teach
and these scholars how to learn; but with melancholy from
the consideration that this, which is the first of our public
triumphs, is the last of theirs. I am afflicted to hear this.
and I partake of their feelings. On Thursday, the new
218
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROJ1.E
Doctor and I dined with Cardinal Zurla, called to thank
Cardinal Pacca, :Monsignori Caprano, NicolaI, Testa, the
professors, etc. I never met with such cordial congratula-
tions fronl all sorts of persons.' "
Dr. Gradwell in some notes written at the College,
probably in the year of Wiseman's triumph in the schools,
gives some statistics of the students who came in the first
years to begin the Venerabile on its reopening. Ten had
arrived in December I8I8, as already noted; in October
I8I9, another joined them, another in I82I, and yet another
in I8zz : in all thirteen. Of these, three, namely Henry Gillow,
John Kearns and J ames Fleetwood, had by March I8z4
finished their course, and left for the English Mission: one,
John Rush, went on March I3, I824, to become a Camaldo-
lese Hermit: five n10re, Richard Alberry, Richard Crosby,
Thomas Ewart, John Dakson and William Hall, had been
obliged by ill-health to return to their native country.
There were in the College, when the Rector made his
notes, James Sharples, Robert Platt, Daniel Rock priests,
and Nicholas \Viseman acolyte, in the fourth year of
theology.
fr. Eccles a deacon, in his second year, and six
in the first year, namely George Heptonstall, William
Turner subdeacon, Jeremy Harrington, John
Iaddon,
Patrick Brickley, George Errington in nrinor orders, with
John Scott still studying his humanities. Besides these
there were four convictors studying their humanities,
Thomas Jones, Richard Jones, William Riddell and John
Errington. These, with Dr. Gradwell the Rector and
Richard Gillow 1 Vice-Rector and Professor of Humanities
for the Convictors, formed the members of the English
College in I8z4.
At the beginning of I8z4 Cardinal Consalvi died. His
death was a real loss to the English College; for sjnce he
had been Protector he had taken a great interest in the
establishment, and had watched over its reconstruction
under Dr. Gradwell, in whom he had every confidence. Four
years later, the Rector was taken from Rome to become
coadjutor of Dr. Bramston, Vicar-Apostolic of the London
1 Richard Gillow had come to Rome to finish his theology on Oct. 16,
1819, and was ordained priest June 16, 1821.
DESTRUCTION AND RECONSTRUCTION 219
District. The last great success scored by the College
whilst under his direction, was the U Public Act H of George
Errington, the future Archbishop. This took place on
August 22, r827, at the Apollinare. Cardinal Zurla, now
the Protector of the English College, presided as he had
done in the case of \Viseman, and Errington won as great
a chorus of praise as the former had done.
Dr. Gradwell thus writes of the impression made at the
time: U :Mr. Errington," he says, U acquitted himself very
well. The arguers chose very difficult points and placed
their arguments in the most forcible light; especially two
of the first Jesuit Professors, one contending that the Book
of Judith was not a history but a ftv()oç, the other detailing
Michaelis's arguments against the authenticity of the
Apocalypse. His answers to these as well as all the other
points mooted excited the astonishment and admiration
of the whole assembly, composed of Bishops, Prelates,
Professors, students, etc., from every part of Rome. It
did not yield to the celebrated performance of Wiseman
in the Church of St. Ignatius three years ago. Several
Cardinals and Prelates have since made our College the
highest compliments and have told me that all Rome is
indebted to us for having set such an example." 1
The rest of Dr. Gradwell's letter relates to the visit paid
by Pope Leo XII to Monte Porzio, which is still remembered
with pride, and to commemorate which a marble slab was
set up in the refectory. U His Holiness," writes Dr. Grad-
well, "has often marked his applause by acts of kindness
and condescension both to me and the students, but espe-
cially since the close of the schools last autumn. He not
only said the most handsome and flattering things of the
College, but determined to honour it publicly in a manner
of which there is no example. When we were spending
our vacation at our villa in the small town of Monte Porzio,
fifteen nlÌles out of Rome, the Pope sent me word that he
would come on the 20th of October to spend the day and
dine with us. I made all due preparations for receiving
so distinguished a guest. At seven o'clock in the morning
he set out from the palace of the Vatican with four coaches
1 In Bishop \Vard's Eve of Catholic Emancipation, ii. p. 200.
220
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN R01'
IE
escorted by a detachment of horse guards and arrived at
the country house of the College at ten. I and Dr. Wise-
man (at this time Vice-Rector of the College), at the head
of the students, received His Holiness at the door, con-
ducted him first to the chapel where he said some prayers,
then to my rooms which I was proud to resign to such an
illustrious visitant, and then to the large recreation room
where a throne was erected. Here he took his seat, the
Prelates and noble officers of his household standing on
each side. I presented all the students first in a body,
then one by one to receive the Pope's blessing and kiss his
feet. He made them many compliments on their conduct
and studies, inquired which of them had gained so many
rewards and medals in the Roman schools, and exhorted
them to continue to do honour both to England and to
Rome. He then came down from the throne, and talked
in the most fan1iliar manner with the students. All the
people of Monte Porzio, with the clergy and inhabitants
of the neighbouring towns and villages, thronged the
College door. The Pope gave them his blessing from the
College window, but as the whole of the crowd could not
get within sight, he very obligingly went through the
crowded streets on foot, holding my hand, to the fine large
Parish Church, and repeated his benediction from a balcony
in the Great Square. I then presented the clergy and all
the principal inhabitants, both men and women, as I had
before presented the students. It was a beautiful and
affecting sight; the good people, who had never had a
Pope within their walls for above two hundred years, rending
the air with enthusiastic applause, and crying out, Viva it
Santo Padre! Viva it Collegio Inglese! At one o'clock
dinner was announced. The Pope sat at the head of the
table, his part being elevated a few inches above the rest.
The prelates and students sat in two lines at the remainder
of the table. The Pope made me say grace before and
after dinner. As he took his seat he said: I It is very
unusual for a Pope to sit down to dinner with a company
of such fine students, but to-day I have this advantage
and I enjoy it: He took soup, a little boiled and roast
meat, a salad and a few glasses of wine, but did not touch
DESTRUCTION AND RECONSTRUCTION 22I
any of the fine dishes which his cook had been preparing
for two da ys. . . . After dinner there was another large
presentation. At four o'clock the Pope took leave in the
most affecting manner, and returned with his suite to Rome."
Dr. Gradwell relates another example of the extreme
benevolence of the Holy Father to the English College in
the following year. It On Holy Saturday afternoon I was
interrupted by a message from the Pope. Four porters
preceded by the Pope's steward and some of his servants,
carrying on their shoulders something covered with a white
sheet strewed with artificial flowers, came out of the Pope's
palace, walked solemnly across the Square of St. Peter's
past the Castle and Bridge of St. Angelo, till they stopped
at the door of the English College, where they sent for me,
and said they had brought this burden as a present from
the Pope. Hundreds of people were following to see what
this novel spectacle could mean. But what do you think
it was? A fine fat live calf, with a halter of red silk and
gold on its head, its feet tied with red silk cords to the
litter and its head and neck adorned with beautiful garlands
of artificial fruits and flowers. It was a beautiful animal.
On Easter Tuesday I had most of the English Catholic
gentlemen in town to dinner, in order to partake of it.
Among the rest were Bishop Baines, Lord Anlndell, Lord
Gornlanston, Lord Dormer, Sir Patrick Bellew, Mr. Doughty,
Mr. Barrow, Mr. Nugent,
ir. Errington,
Ir. Sargent,
Ir. Preston and :Mr. John Roskell. As I could not invite
ladies to dine in the College, I sent Lady Arundell a fine
fillet, that the ladies might partake of it together at her
house.
It When I went to thank His Holiness last week for
these attentions he invited eight of our students to carry
the canopy which is held over him while he carries the
Blessed Sacrament in grand procession round the Colonnade
of St. Peter's on the festival of Corpus Christi." 1
The proposal of Dr. Bramston to be allowed to have
Dr. Gradwell as his coadjutor in England came before
Propaganda in
Iay 1823; and after some short delay the
Pontiff granted the request on June 8, 1823, anxiously
1 In Bishop Ward's Eve of Catholic Emal1cipation.ii. p. .W2.
222 THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
enquiring first what arrangement it was proposed to nlake
for the government of the English College. Bishop Grad-
well, as he must now be called, was consecrated in the
chapel of the College by Cardinal Zurla, assisted by Monsignor
Caprano and Dr. Baines. On July 9 he had his farewell
audience of the Pope, and on the following day he handed
over the government of the College to Dr. Wiseman, who
had been appointed Pro-Rector for a time, until the wishes
of the English Bishops had been taken as to the appointment
of a permanent successor. The same day Dr. Gradwell
left Rome for England.
It is impossible for anyone to read the documents
appertaining to this period of reconstruction of the English
College without seeing that the Institution owes a deep
debt of gratitude to Dr. Gradwell. He was truly a man
placed in his post by Providence, for he had all the many
qualities required to carry out the often delicate negotiations
requisite at the founding of an Institution. He had likewise
an intense love for the College and its long and glorious
history. His notes show that he knew the Archives well,
and that he possessed the true historical sense which enabled
him to arrange and use them properly. His memory should
ever be held in benediction by every alumnus of the
Venerabile.
.
)
"'!)
. -
DR. \VISEMA
[To face p. 223.
CHAPTER XII
THE COLLEGE UNDER DR. WISEMAN
WHEN Dr. Gradwell departed for his new sphere of work
in England, his Vice-Rector, Dr. \Viseman, was appointed
at first as pro-Rector, and in December of the same year,
1828, was permanently confirmed as Rector of the Venerabile.
The twelve years in which he held this office may be regarded
as the golden age of the English College. Although Wiseman
was then not twenty-six years of age, he had already taken
a position of pre-eminence in the ecclesiastical and learned
world of Rome. His H oræ Syriacæ, which appeared in the
previous year, had made for him a reputation among
European scholars, and had brought him into touch with
some of the most illustrious writers of the world. 1
Whilst still Vice-Rector of the College, he devoted a
great part of the years 1825-7 to the preparation of his
H one and to his study of Syriac and other Eastern lan-
1 The journal Diario di Roma from time to time noted the doings of
Dr. Wiseman. For example, on July 14, 1824, it gives a long account
of his public theses at the Gesù, already spoken of in the last chapter.
May 16, 1829 (pp. 9. 10) it describes a ceremony at the English College,
.. Sotto la direzione del Rev. Sign, Dottore D. Niccola \Viseman, Agente
del clero d'Inghilterra e Rettore." Diario di Roma, June II (pp. 2, 3),
gives an account of a meeting of the Accademia di Religione Cattolica,
in which Dr. \Viseman criticised the Life of Gregory VII, by Gresley.
The same journal, July II, 1837 (p. I), speaks of a conference, which he
gave to the same Society on June 15, Again it notes several essays of
\Viseman published in the Annali delle Scienze Religiose, in 1836 and 1837.
In 1839 (Jan. 8, p. I) the Diario speaks of his winter course of sermons
in the Church of Gesù e Maria in the Corso and of other sermons in S.
Silvestro in Capite. In the same year (1839, Feb. 5) the journal speaks
of a funeral discourse, which Dr. Wiseman preached at San Carlo in Corso,
on the Indian Princess Sombre Begum. In 1840 (Feb. 25) it notices his
sermon preached during the Octave of the Epiphany in the Church of
Spirito Santo dei Napoletani. In the same year (June 16) it records his
consecration as Bishop, and finally on July 21 it speaks of a conference
he gave before the Accademia di Religione Cattolica.
223
224
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROllfE
guages. He had a wonderful facility for acquIring new
tongues, which has been compared with that of the celebrated
l\Iezzofante himself. The H oræ Syriacæ was acknowledged
as the work of a thorough student in Syrian MSS., and dis-
played such sound critical powers that many of the foremost
authorities of the day, U of many religions and nationalities,"
regarded it as the first production of one who was to be a
great Orientalist. 1 These were years during which he formed
a lasting friendship with :Monsignor Mai, the future Cardinal.
U I look back, " wrote Cardinal Wisen1an to a friend in
r856, U with much tender affection and sweet gratitude to
the quiet hours I used to spend alone in the hall of the
Vatican library, surrounded with old Syrian MSS., and
every now and then having a chat with the learned Cardinal
Mai, as he passed through. For I was the only person
whonl he allowed to be there during the midsumn1er vacation,
when the scriPtores even were absent. Occasionally he would
bring me the Syrian treatises, which he has published in
his Collection, to revise and correct for him. He continued
his friendship for me to the last."
In his Recollect'ions, too, Cardinal Wiseman has a passage
which records these studious days of his early youth, when
he was Vice-Rector of the English College, and when,
although at the tinle only four- or five-and-twenty, he was
on terms of intimacy and equality with the first Oriental
scholars in the Eternal City. U Who," he writes, U has
remained in Rome for his intellectual cultivation, and does
not remember quiet hours in one of the great public libraries,
where noiseless monks brought him and piled around him
the folios which he required, and he sat as still amid a
hundred readers as if he were alone?
U But there is an inner apartment in that great house,
and he who may have penetrated into it will look back
on the time with pleasurable regret. Imagine him seated
alone in the second hall of the Vatican library, round which
are ranged now empty desks (for it is vacation time), while
above is a row of portraits of eminent librarians . . . a
door opposite gives a view of the grand Gouble hall beyond,
divided by piers. The cases round them and along the
1 w. \Vard, Life of Cardinal Wiseman, i. p. 54.
THE COLLEGE UNDER DR. WISEMAN 225
walls are the very treasure shrines of learning containing
only gems of manuscript lore. Above, all is glowing with
gold and ultramarine as airy and brilliant as the Zuccari
could lay them. The half-closed shutters and drawn cur-
tains impart a drowsy atmosphere to the delicious coolness
which gi ves no idea of the broiling sun glaring on the
square without. Imagine, however, no idler, for such a
one could not obtain access there at such a season-but
an assiduously plodding, perhaps dull-looking, emaciated
student, in whose hand crackles the parchment of some
old dingy volun1e whose turn has come of the many around
him to be what is called C collated.' . . . Perhaps at the
moment of a delightful discovery that the dusky mem-
branaceous document has, in a certain spot, a preposition
or even a letter different from three companions, there
enters silently a man of middle age with lofty brow and
deep-set eyes, and happy in the loose drapery of home
and summer-for he lives among books-and sits down
beside the solitary learner. Kind and encouraging words,
useful practical information, perhaps a discussion on some
interesting point, make a quarter of an hour's diversion
from the weight of the day and the heat. But coming
from or shared with the discoverer of Cicero and Fronto,
of Isocrates and Dionysius, they may become the beginning
of a long-cherished and valued friendship. Hours like these
often repeated pass not away lightly from the memory.
Spent under the very shadow of the great dome, they
endear Rome by the recollection of solid profit gained and
garnered for the evil days of busier life."
Every lover of the English College in Rome must feel a
pride in the reflection of the position won by Dr. Wiseman
by his patience and laborious studies. \Vhilst still Vice-
Rector, he was appointed by Pope Leo XII Professor of
Oriental Languages at the Roman University. And the
numerons letters he received from eminent scholars, such
as Bunsen, Tholuck, Father Ackermann of Vienna and Scholz
of Bonn, testify to their appreciation of his extraordinary
merits. The H oræ Syriacæ was at once translated into
German, and aroused the attention of the German-speaking
people. In England the Anglican Bishop of Salisbury
Q
226 THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN RO
ME
introduced this young but brilliant scholar and his work
to the British public, and secured his election to various
learned societies.
Such was the extraordinary position attained by the
Vice- Rector before the departure of Dr. Gradwell from
Rome. His appointment as Rector necessarily diverted
much of his energy to other channels and prevented him
from becoming, as many had considered he would certainly
have become, one of the foremost scholars of the day.
Besides these studies which occupied his thoughts and time
during the years r825-7, Dr. Wiseman, no sooner had the
composition of his volume been completed, found himself
obliged to undertake the more public rôle of a preacher.
In r827 he chanced to be with the Rector, Dr. Gradwell,
at an audience of the Holy Father, when Leo XII expressed
a desire that some special services and sermons should be
undertaken for the English residents in Rome, and for the
numerous visitors who from time to time found themselves
in the city. He naturally looked to the English College to
carry out this work. The Rector assented, and suggested
that Dr. Wiseman would be the proper man to undertake
the work. The Church of Gesù e
/[aria in the Corso was
fixed upon by the Holy Father as a fitting locale for the
experiment, and the Pope promised to defray all the expenses
and to send some members of the Papal choir to sing at
the services. The College Diary consequently records on
December 9, r827: "Dr. \Viseman preached his first sermon
at the Gesù e :Maria on Repentance. The Pope sent twelve
singers from his choir." There is also a record of another
sermon on the Love of God, preached on February ro,
r828. To Dr. Wiseman this was no slight task; but in
later life he regarded the charge as having been a special
Providence to prepare him for his future labours in England.
Of the necessary work of preparation for the discourses he
writes: "It would be impossible to describe the anxiety,
pain and trouble which this command cost me for many
years after. The sermons were for years written out fully
and learnt by heart." In his Recollections \V'iseman says:
It Leo could not see what has been the influence of his
commission in merely dragging from commerce with the
THE COLLEGE UNDER DR. WISEMAN 227
dead to that of the living, one who would gladly have
confined his time to the former-from books to men, from
reading to speaking. Nothing but (his command) would
have done it. Yet supposing that the province of one's
life was to be active and in contact with the world, and
one's future destinies were to be in a country and in times
when the most bashful maybe driven to plead for his
religion and his flock, surely a command, overriding all
inclination and forcing the will to undertake the best and
only preparation for these tasks, may well be contemplated
as a sacred in1pulse and a timely direction to a mind that
wanted both. Had it not come then it never would have
come. Other bents \-vould soon have become stiffened and
unpliant. OJ
The biographer of Cardinal Wiseman 1 writes of him at
this time: .. In the following year-in June 1828-Dr.
Gradwell, the Rector of the English College, was made
Bishop and sent to England, and Wiseman, who was not
yet twenty-six years old, succeeded him as Rector of the
College. We note henceforth a great change in his life;
for which circumstances had already been preparing him.
The Horæ Syriacæ had by this time made him a marked
man in the learned world, and visitors to Rome sought
him out as a person of distinction. As the chief English
preacher in Rome, he was turned to for advice and guidance
in the not unfrequent cases of the reconciliation of English-
men to Catholicism; and his new appointment gave him
the prominence attaching to the official representative of
English Catholics in Rome. We find in a rough diary-
so rough as to be unfit to quote from at length-indications
of his daily life in the summer of 1828, and it shows the
change in his habits. Hitherto a shy student, associating
little with his neighbours, frorn the time of Dr. Gradwell's
non1Ìnation and the success of his book, not only had he
to attend to the business of the College, but he appears
to have mixed freely in society, and to have corresponded
with the learned world in various countries. His already
full and varied college life-a life of reading, of lecturing
and preaching, of the n1usician and art critic-thus became
1 Mr. Wilfrid vVard, i. p. 67.
228
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
united with a marked growth of external relations. 'When
shall I once more be quietly at my books? ' he writes on
July 12, after a n10nth of unceasing alternations of business,
society and elaborate correspondence."
Mr. Wilfrid vVard gives his readers some samples of the
daily occupation of the new Rector at this period, which
he had gleaned from this rough diary. Though somewhat
lengthy, these are well worth recording in these pages, as
they cannot fail to interest all alumni of the Venerabile,
old and young.
"On June 24 Dr. Gradwell is consecrated; Cardinal Zurla,
who had succeeded the great Consalvi as Cardinal Protector
of the College, officiates. Wiseman conducts the music
(the alternate verses of the Te Deu'm, he notes, were in
four parts, without organ). Company present: Monsignori
Nicolai, Testa, Baines, Gasparini (the intimate friend of
Leo XII), Cappacini (Consalvi's ex-Secretary), Lord Arundell
of Wardour, Mr. Colyar (whose name is familiar to those
who have read l\Iacaula y' s account of his visit to Rome in
1838), Abbate Testa, Santucci and Fornari (afterwards a
Cardinal). Dinner follows, then a walk and vespers at
St. John Lateran. Wiseman's musical soul revels in the
psalms, especially the Credidi and Beatus Vir. Next day
is spent in accompanying Dr. Gradwell on visits of ceremony
to various Cardinals, and in fixing an audience at the
Vatican. He dines at Duke Torlonia's, meets there Lord
and Lady Arundell, Madame Mendoza, two Russians, Herr
Thorwaldsen, the great sculptor, and others. Then to Villa
Borghese, and in the evening to a party at Princess
Massimo's. A long talk with Lady Westmoreland and a
short one with Cardinal Gregori are chronicled. June 28
is spent in writing his inaugural discourse as Rector, and
preparing the l\lfass music (Zingarelli, No.2) for the next
day. We have (a few days later) an indication of what
these musical rehearsals sometimes involved. He copied
out the parts himself in the case of fa vourite pieces of music
which had never been published, and the musical perforn1ers
to be supplied with copies comprised, not only a choir, but
two violins, a 'cello and two clarinets, as well as an organist
-all residents at the College.
THE COLLEGE UNDER DR. WISEMAN 229
H On July I, visits to Monsignor Testa, who is reading
Pritchard on Egyptian Mythology, and to Sir W. Gell, are
noted. Then comes an expedition to Kelsall's studio in
the Piazza Barberini. 'Viseman admires his statue of
Discobolus 'taking aim with his discus-the moment which
must operate powerfully on his expression, for after that
moment the chief object to be represented would be muscular
exertion.' Kelsall also shows him the abbozzo of a monument
of ' an Ambassadress of Holland.' She will be represented
recumbent just before expiring, with the crucifix on her
breast, gazing up with her last effort towards her daughter,
who comes in the form of an angel to call her. This is
founded on fact: the Countess had for several years been
disconsolate for the loss of this daughter, and I believe her
grief had accelerated her end, when, a few moments before
it, she revived and exclaimed: 'I see my daughter coming
for me,' and instantly expired. Thence he went to De
Fabri's to see his model for the monument to Tasso.
"Later in the day he goes to a party at Countess
Carpegna's, and records a conversation on ideology and
memory, occasioned by the paralytic stroke which has
afflicted Monsignor Mario, and which has destroyed his
memory for substallt'l.ves. Fornari mentioned the librarian
at :Milan, Mazzuchelli, who has so far lost his memory as
to have to take a master for reading and writing.
H Audiences with Cardinal Zurla and with the Pope are
on the 5th and 9th of July; at the latter an honorary
degree in Divinity is obtained for Dr. Griffiths, afterwards
Vicar-Apostolic of the London District and then President
of St. Edmund's College, Old Hall. A few days later, after
Dr. Gradwell's departure, we have a letter from Ackermann
of Vienna with news of a fresh Austrian review of the
H oræ Syriacæ. The letter and Arabic extracts enclosed
are sent by Wiseman to Professor d' Allen1and at the
Apollinare, and afterwards discussed with him. Dinner at
Lady Westn1Oreland's at Palazzo Rospigliosi. Present:
Lady Campbell, Marchesa de la Grua (with whom he con-
verses on Spain), the Giuntalardis, Dr. Nott, an ex-tutor
to Princess Charlotte, now engaged in collating 11SS at
the great Benedictine Library of Monte Cassino. f When
230 THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROJl,fE
I was leaving with the rest,' he says, f Lady Westmoreland
called me back, made me sit by her. . . and went through
all her grievances on the Blessingtons' account. Luckily
Lord Dudley Stuart came in, and at the Ave l'tlaria I made
my escape: s'ic me servavit A pallo.'
U The next few days are occupied entirely in teaching
and in preparing his lectures on the Eucharist. There is
a dinner-party at Cardinal Zurla's: among the company,
Monsignori Testa and Gasparini. The forn1er tells Wiseman
of the Pope's intention to form an Oriental Society, of
which Wiseman is to be a member. A long talk with
Monsignor Mai is chronicled on the 30th. Both he and
Monsignor Testa f had a thousand questions to ask about
O'Connell's proceedings,' which reminds us that Catholic
Emancipation was in prospect. O'Connell's coup in stand-
ing for County Clare, in order to emphasise before the world
the injustice of his exclusion for religion, is duly chronicled
a few days earlier.
U The entry on August 2 begins as follows: f My birthday.
I have now completed 26. Said Mass for myself, to obtain
that the next and following years of my life may be spent
more to the purpose for myself and others than Iny last
and those which preceded it. Made good determinations-
may they not prove like those which have vanished before
them. '
U The journal ends in the autumn. We find, in August,
an expedition to Monte Porzio, frequent visits to libraries-
as St. Agostino and the Minerva-learned conversations
with Professor d' Allen1and, correspondence with Ackermann
and Volke, and a breakfast party at Cardinal Zurla's. An
incidental reference to another Roman student, afterwards,
like Wiseman, an English-speaking Cardinal, may be noted.
On August 25 we read: · Cullen came in to ask me to go
to Frascati to see young Mr. Hillyer. . . who has just
become a Catholic.'
U On the same day reference is made to the deaths of
two ex-students--deaths full of fervour and consolation.
U · When I consider' (he writes) · that the most virtuous
are called from us, and such poor wretches as myself left
to be the supports of God's holy religion, it makes me fear
THE COLLEGE UNDER DR. WISE1UAN 23 1
His judgn1ents are upon us, and that He only leaves us
because we are not fit to pass to His enjoyment. May the
examples He has given us not be thrown away. How little
does the world look when viewed from the death-bed of
the just! ' "
Shortly after Wiseman's appointment as Rector of the
College, Pope Leo XII died, on February 10, 1829. After
a Conclave extending over thirty-six days, Cardinal Cas-
tiglione was elected to succeed him on March 31, and
took the name of Pius VIII. The position of the Rector,
as the representative of British Catholics in Rome, obliged
him officially to inforn1 the Holy Father of the passing of
the Bill for Catholic Emancipation by the English Par-
liament. This he did in company with his Vice-Rector,
Dr. Errington, and after their formal audience, they pro-
ceeded to inform the Cardinal Secretary of State. The
English College celebrated the occasion according to the
usual Roman method of rejoicing, which Wiseman describes
in his Recollections 1 as follows :-
If The front of our house was covered with an elegant
architectural design in variegated lamps and an orchestra
was erected opposite for festive music. In the morning of
the appointed day, a Te Demn attended by the various
British Colleges was performed; in the afternoon a banquet
on a magnificent scale was given at his villa near St. Paul's
by :Monsignor Nicolai, the learned illustrator of that Basilica;
and in the evening we returned home to see the upturned
faces of the multitudes reflecting the brilliant < lamps of
architecture' that tapestried our venerable walls. But the
words < Emancipazione Cattolica,' which were emblazoned
in lamps along the front, were read by the people with
difficulty and interpreted by conjecture; so that many came
and admired but went away unenlightened by the blaze
that had dazzled them, into the darkness visible of the
surrounding streets.
If In fact the first of the two words, long and formidable
to untutored lips, was no household word in Italy, nor was
there any imaginable connection in ordinary persons' minds
between it and its adjective, nor between the two and
1 p. 393.
23 2
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN RO
IE
England. But to us and our guests there was surely a
magic in the words that spoke to our hearts, and awakened
there sweet music more cheering than that of our orchestra,
and kindled up a brighter illumination in our minds than
that upon our walls."
Pope Pius VIII, after a brief pontificate, died on
December I, 1830. He was succeeded by Cardinal Cappel-
lari, a true personal friend of Dr. \Viseman. He was well
known as a theologian, and was a Camaldolese monk of
ascetic life. His first greeting to the English Rector after
his elevation was: 'f You must now revise your own proofs.
I fear I shall not have much time to correct them." 1
In 1830, there came to the English College to prepare
for the priesthood a recent convert, now well known as
Father Ignatius Spencer, and the fact of his stay in the
Venerabile and of his having been ordained in the College
chapel is something of which the alumni have reason to
be proud. ff This holy man," writes Mr. Wilfrid Ward,
ff whose life is among the remarkable stories of religious
devotion in this century, passed his early years after the
manner of a fashionable young man of the time." He was
the brother of the late Lord Spencer. ff Having gone
through his career at Can1bridge, and his early years of
I.ondon society, with an average share of the faults of
youth, he received-strange to say-his first strong religious
impression from the opera of Don Giovanni, which he
witnessed in Paris in 1820. 'The last scene,' he writes,
, represents Don Giovanni seized in the midst of his licentious
career by a troop of devils and hurried down to Hell. As
I saw this scene, I was terrified at my own state. I knew
that God, who knew what was within me, must look on
me as one in the same class as Don Giovanni. . . this
holy warning I was to find in an opera-house in Paris.'
He took orders in the Anglican Church a little later, and
after years of vacillation as to the form of theology which he
should adopt, he became a convert. . . in January 182 9." 2
The influence of Father Spencer in the English College
during his stay, especially by his devotion and enthusiasm,
was very marked. In July 1830, Dr. \Viseman, writing to
1 Life oj Cardinal Wisemall, i. IIO. 2 Ib., p. 99.
THE COLLEGE UNDER DR. WISEl'rfAN 233
Dr. Husenbeth, describes briefly his own feeling in regard
to this saintly and extraordinary man: "I find Mr. Spencer
has been beforehand with me in writing to you, and has
thus deprived me of one of the topics which would have
been most interesting to you. You will more fully know
him from a few lines written by himself than by any
account I could give you of him. For I never met any
one whose mind and heart so unreservedly exhibit them-
selves in every action and word as in his case. He is
candour and openness itself-I have no doubt but that
Divine Providence has brought him to the truth, not only
for his own sake, but for the salvation of others, so that
in his conversion < many shall rejoice: JJ
At the beginning of the following year, 1831, Dr. Weedall,
who was staying at the Collegio Inglese at the time, writes
that U Mr. Spencer preached his first sernlOn in the College
Chapel on the Purification. Indeed, he was actually preach-
ing when the cannon announced the election of Pope Gregory
(XVI). His sermon was plain and familiar, full of good
sense and piety, and was delivered with a feeling effect.
I think he is destined to do wonders in England. He is
preparing to receive subdeacon's orders in Lent. I said
l\Iass for him, with sensations I cannot describe, at the
tomb of the Apostles in the subterranean church at St.
Peter's on the 30th January, the < conversion of St. Pau1.'
It was the day he went to Garendon Park, directed by a
grace that decided his resolution. He went to Holy
Communion on the occasion."
From the first Dr Wiseman, as Rector, and his Vice-
Rector, Dr. Errington, laboured without sparing themselves
for the education, intellectual and religious, of the students
of the English College. It was no light privilege for those
who lived in the place at this tin1e to be directed by two
such successful students in their studies, and to be able
to follow the familiar discourses of their Rector on almost
every topic. In 1833, after the departure of Father Ignatius
Spencer and Dr. Logan-the first the enthusiast, the second
the man of culture and ability-Dr. Wisen1an seems to have
found no one in Rome to take their place, and complains
of feeling lonely and depressed for a while. He was not
234
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROllfE
well, and his labours in the previous years began to tell
upon him. The weather, too, in the sumnler of that year
was bad, and tended to make him take a sad view of
everything. In September 1833 he was at Monte Porzio
with the students, and kept much to himself and enjoyed
the company of his favourite dog, Minna.
At that time he wrote to a friend: "Since we came out
we have hardly had a day without rain. I have been once
out on horseback, to show the new ones the antiquities of
Albano. To-day a party has gone to Tivoli; but it has
been raining in torrents all day, though the n10rning was
very fine. With the exception of this expedition, I have
not been farther than the Clementines. In fact, I feel little
inducement to do so, for, independent of the weather, a
lonely ramble is but sorry relaxation for one who when
alone is necessarily dri ven to think. Minna is on these
occasions my only companion, and though her pranks and
caresses are amusing and engaging, yet she is but a dumb
companion. Not that there exists the slightest coldness
between me and the rest, for nothing can exceed the good-
humour and content which reigns through the house; but
I never can feel that cordiality of intercourse to which I
have been accustomed towards those whose pursuits and
thoughts are so different from mine."
Towards the end of November of the same year, 1833,
Wiseman writes to a friend SOlne items of Roman and
College news. "Now for a little news. We have had a
splendid dirge for the King of Spain at the Spanish Church.
The decoration was beautiful and Mozart's Requiem was
splendidly performed. The only fault was that the time
was throughout taken too quick. Two striking instances
of the uncertainty of life have lately taken place within
the circle of our acquaintances. First the excellent Arch-
priest of :Monte Porzio, whom we left in October in flourish-
ing health, in less than a month was carried off by a fever
caught in attending a sick person. The second case is
more tragic. The new Abbot of Grotta Ferrata, a young
man elected with great opposition, robust and cheerful,
was sleeping a few nights after we left the country, when
a gun charged with small shot was fired at his window,
THE COLLEGE UNDER DR. WISEMAN 235
and smashed it. This was only a feint to make him get
up; but fortunately he only covered himself more, for
presently after a volley of bullets, of which nine were
found, was poured into the room. After some time he rose
and gave the alarm, and early in the morning came off to
Rome. I saw him a few days after, looking bewildered,
pale and haggard. Every evening at the same hour as the
attack happened he is seized with fits, one of which will
shortly close his life. Fornarini, it is supposed, will be the
new Archpriest, as the village has petitioned for him.
Abbate Bruti has disappeared on a sudden from the world,
and is in his novitiate at Subiaco.
II In the College we have been going on very well; the
two Messrs. Davies have arrived, and a valuable acquisition
they are. Both are excellent n1usicians, the elder having
studied counterpoint with Baini, the other a finished organist,
and possessing a strong soprano voice up to A and some-
times C. The elder is a beautiful artist in Raphael's early
manner. . . the younger a Cambridge man, perfectly versed
in Greek and Latin literature, particularly in the curious
departments, as the old grammarians and musicians. He
is also a good Hebraist and a n10st amusing companion.
I wish you were here; I am sure you would be delighted.
. . . I am living a hermit's life this winter, going out
nowhere and making few acquaintances. Though Rome
was never so full as this year, since I came I never knew
so few people. Yesterday Cardinal Weld gave a large soirée
in honour of Lord Anglesea. . . . My chest has been
troubling me so much I cannot preach this year; this duty
will be discharged by Dr. Baggs and Rev. Mr. Miley from
Dublin, who has a high character as a preacher. I do not
think I told you in Iny last that during Villegg'l"atura I
commenced Persian, and have continued it with spirit as
far as other things would allow me, and I read it and speak
it more easily than Arabic. . . . I have been writing over
again, and am gradually delivering, n1Y course of lectures
upon the advantage of science to the Evidences, bringing
them down to the present time, and shall probably print
them, but how can I manage the correction for the press
without you?
23 6
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
H I believe I did not tell you that one day during Villeg-
giatura, as Paolo was coming into the gate, he was arrested
and sent off to Viterbo to take his trial for a murder said
to have been committed by him ten years ago, there. I
suppose Nicolai had screened him from the mishap so long
as he lived. His brother says he is at liberty in his paese,
and will soon be allowed to come to Rome; others diversely
report as to how he would be condemned to twenty years'
galleys. In the meantime we have a man from the Abbate;
but I am now going to take a decisive step in favour of a
fixed vignaruolo, the more so as it seems Paolo was given
to liquor, always went armed, and disguised policemen used,
every now and then, to pay the vineyard a visit as his
friends, but, I suppose, to watch him that he gave them
not the slip."
During this year, 1833, Dr. Wiseman received at the
English College a visit from two English travellers, which
was the beginning of a train of events which had a great
deal to do with his subsequent career. These two were
]. H. Newman, the future Cardinal, and his friend Hurrell
Froude, who has described their conversation with Wiseman
on that occasion.
H It is really melancholy," he writes in April to a friend,
ct to think how little one has got for one's time and money.
The only thing I can put my hand on as an acquisition is
ha ving formed an acquaintance with a man of some influence
in Rome, Monsignor Wiseman, the head of the English
College, who has enlightened Newman and me on the
subject of our relations to the Church of Rome. We got
introduced to him to find out whether they would take us
in on any terms to which we could twist our consciences,
and we found, to our dismay, that not one step could be
gained without swallowing the Council of Trent as a whole.
We made our approaches to the subject as delicately as
we could. Our first notion was that terms of communion
were within certain limits under the control of the Pope,
or that in case he could not dispense solely, yet at any
rate the acts of one Council might be rescinded by another
-indeed, that in Charles 1's time it had been intended to
negotiate a reconciliation on the terms on which things
THE COLLEGE UNDER DR. WISEMAN 237
stood before the Council of Trent. But we found, to our
horror, that the doctrine of the infallibility of the Church
made the Acts of each successive Council obligatory for
ever; that what had once been decided could never be
meddled with again-in fact, that they were committed
finally and irrevocably, and could not advance one step to
meet us, even though the Church of England should become
what it was in Laud's time, or indeed what it might have
been up to the atrocious Council, for Monsignor Wiseman
adlnitted that many things (e. g. the doctrine of the Mass)
which were final then had been indeterminate before. . . .
We mean to make as much as we can of our acquaintance
with Monsignor Wiseman, who is really too nice a person
to talk nonsense about." 1
In the year 1834, Dr. Wisen1an began to contemplate
the possibility of transferring his energies to England.
Bishop Baines had talked to him of schemes he had formed
to promote a revival of Catholic thought and learning in
England. He proposed to found a Catholic University and
to establish a learned Catholic Review. He had been
encouraged to do so by the Pope, and considered that a
Papal Charter had already been promised him. He filled
Wiseman's mind as to the possibility of the scheme, and
proposed to him to come over to England, and become his
coadjutor in the Western District, and direct the new
movement from which he expected so much.
Although in the event nothing came of these proposals
beyond a subsequent journey to England, Wiseman began
to contemplate the coming severance of his connection with
Rome and the English College. His feelings were divided
at the prospect, as may be seen in a letter he wrote from
Monte Porzio in the September of 1835: "Here we are at
Monte Porzio, I in myoid corner, with :Minna beside me.
The evening litany has just been sung, and the grasshoppers
begun their endless chirrup. I have gazed with undiminished
delight upon the splendid landscape below my little terrace,
the mingled greens of olive and corn and vines-the three
things whereby men are multiplied-the chestnut forests,
1 W. Ward, Life of Cardinal Wiseman, i. pp. 117-18. "'"iseman, in his
review of Hurrell Froude's Remains, denied that he had made any such
inaccurate admission about the Mass (Dublin Review, May 1839).
238 THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
the tangled sides of Catone, the lordly piles of St. Silvestro
. . . and Rufinella, and the bright mirror of sea beyond
all, and I am endeavouring to impress every image as
deeply as possible, that I may have brighter recollections
of what I may perhaps never see again. I can hardly bear
the thought; indeed, to say we are looking on anything
for the last time is like a death-bed speech, and a final
parting is but a sort of death."
During the Lent of this year, 1835, he delivered in the
Palazzo Odesca1chi the course of lectures <<On the Con-
nexion between Science and Revealed Religion," which at
the time caused a sensation in the learned world of Rome.
They had originally been arranged as a course of lectures
to his own students at the English College, and were the
conclusions he had arrived at during many laborious years
of philological and scientific studies. \Vriting to Dr. Tandy
whilst these lectures were in progress, Wiseman says: "I
am now pretty well occupied. Besides my daily lectures
at the Sapienza and my weekly sermon-for I have the
preaching all to myself-I am delivering on Tuesdays and
Fridays long lectures at Cardinal Weld's upon the increase
of evidence to Christianity resulting from the progress of
the sciences. I have delivered two on the comparative
study of languages, to very crowded audiences, in which
were many literary men of great reputation, and have had
the good fortune to engage their attention and interest
beyond expectation. I shall probably publish them in the
course of the summer."
Mr. Monckton Milnes, afterwards Lord Houghton, who
was one of the audience at the Palazzo Odesca1chi, the
Chevalier Bunsen, Döllinger, Scholz, Dr. Leipsius, Count
Munster, Cardinal Mai and others expressed their admira-
tion at these lectures, and at the skill with which Dr.
Wiseman marshalled his evidences, and, of course, at the
extent of his reading and research. Mrs. Somerville, the
eminent mathematician, on coming to Rome asked for a
letter of introduction to him, and << expressed herself," says
a friend, <<highly delighted with your lectures:'
Mr. Wilfrid Ward writes: 1 II These lectures were In
1 Life of Cardinal Wiseman, i. p. 134.
THE COLLEGE UNDER DR. WISEMAN 239
some sense Wiseman's farewell to his student life, although
he did not know it at the tinle. His reputation so far as
the world of letters was concerned was probably at its
height in that spring, when he was not yet thirty-three years
old: and he used afterwards to speak of this part of his
career as the happiest, both in itself and in the friendships
to which it led. C During that brief and long passed era
of life,' he writes in 1858, C congenial pursuits created links
of which few now remain.' Apart from Italian artists and
scholars, he names other friends and correspondents of this
time whose memory he was wont to prize. C Such scholars
in France as the patriarch of Oriental literature, Silvestre
de Sacy; the rival of Grotefend and precursor of Rawlinson,
Saint-Martin; the inaugurator (almost) of Tartar and Mon-
golian learning, Abbé Rémusat; not to mention Balbi,
Ozanam, Halma and many others.'
U Among Germans he recalls !vlöhler, Rlee, Scholz, Frede-
rick Schlegel, Windischmann and the two Görreses."
With Dr. Wiseman's journey to England in the summer
of 1835 and with what he did there the history of the
English College is not immediately concerned. The only
matter of special interest to the alumni of the Venerabile
is to remember that the historic Dublin Review, which still
flourishes as the chief English Catholic organ, was estab-
lished, and at first edited by the future Cardinal, whilst
still Rector of the English College. It may easily, however,
be imagined that all Dr. Wiseman's literary activity, and
the pre-eminent position he had gained for himself as one
of the most renowned scholars in Rome, and even, we may
say, in Europe, had an inspiring effect upon all the students
who were privileged to live under him at this time.
The Rector returned from England in time for the open-
ing of studies. The Rev. :Mr. Ryan, who came out as a
student with him in this year, has left his impressions of
the Rector during the last years of his stay in Rome, which
are of great interest to us and may be given at length.
U When I first knew him he was, I think, at the crisis
of his career, at the close of his student life, and about to
commence the important part he took in the religious
movement and the ecclesiastical politics of his day. He
24 0
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROl'vIE
may-I think he must-have applied much to study (at
an earlier time), but I never saw anything like continuous
application on his part while I was at the English College.
What he wrote was thrown off rapidly and at a single
effort. Indeed, what with his daily lectures at the Univer-
sity, his weekly sermons, his duties as agent to the Bishops
of England, his multifarious correspondence, his visitors and
his visits, he was too busy to be able to read much.
U He was never idle for a moment. Even recreation he
made subservient to a useful purpose. On each Thursday
(the weekly holiday) it was his habit to take us all to one
of the Catacombs, or churches, or antiquities, or picture
galleries, or the museums, or the studios of artists, and on
such occasions we were often accompanied by some German
scholar or other friend of his, interested in Christian art.
. . . Sometimes he would spend a few days out of Rome
in order, I think, to find a little leisure for writing. On
one occasion in 1837, shortly before the yisit of the two
English Bishops, he took three or four of us with him to
Fiumicino, at the mouth of the Tiber, for two or three
days. As soon as we arrived we went to the pier, such as
it was, where we found not more than two or three persons
walking, muffled up to the ears and looking very n1iserable.
I This is their notion of the sea,' he said, I and most of
them have never seen as much, and those who come here
keep close within doors: so they might as well be in Rome.'
He himself took great delight in the sea. We had a pleasant
time of it, meeting at meals and spending the rest of the
day as we liked. While we were amusing ourselves he was
working at his articles for the Review, but always con-
trived to walk out with us for a couple of hours daily, and
we all bathed in the sea at some spot on the sands where
we were not likely to be disturbed. He was very fond of
what he called an 'outing.' Sometimes he would take the
whole of us in carriages to some place outside Rome, such
as the spot known as the ruins of Veii, taking provisions
for a picnic. On such occasions he was the most joyous
of the party, and he liked to see others happy.
U In proof of Dr. Wiseman's versatility, I may mention
that he often acted as our organist. Indeed he had a
THE COLLEGE UNDER DR. WISEMAN 241
critical appreciation of Inusic as well as of the other fine
arts. I t was he, too, who painted the scenes for the first
play which we acted in 1837. I may take this opportunity
of stating what I now feel myself at liberty to mention,
viz. the fact that he himself wrote a piece for us, the scene
of which was America. The manuscript was handed to
those of the students who officiated as managers, with
instructions to take a fair copy and then to return the
original to him, and on no account to divulge even to the
other students the fact that he had written it.
If I think he was hardly aware that what enabled him
to achieve so much was genius. He thought that others
could do what he had done, and was anxious they should
follow in his footsteps. I heard from one, who was cer-
tainly not likely to be swayed by partiality, that he was
ever kind and ready in affording help to others in their
studies. He seemed unconscious of his intellectual superiority
and would seek co-operation from minds inlmeasurably
inferior to his own, as if on the same level with himself. . . .
I do not think he ever forgot anyone who had been under
him. I know many instances in which he befriended them
in after life. If they had thwarted him or even shown
hostility, he was ever ready with a helping hand all the
same. . . ."
Of Wiseman's intercourse with the students of the
College :Mr. Ryan also gives the following account: If He
seldom reproved in words, though it was easy to see whether
he was pleased or otherwise, for he was as natural as a
child, and when annoyed had a habit of holding his lower
lip between his forefinger and thumb and pouting, which
many who smiled at it then will now remember. The
harshest thing I ever heard him say was to a student who
had been engaged with others in a wrestling match and
had got some hurts in the face which required sticking-
plaster. He said to the sufferer, as he was on his way to
our infirmary, ' If you will play like bears, you must expect
the fate of bears.' In general nothing could exceed his
tenderness and synlpath y for the sick."
To quote one nlOre passage from the same recollections:
"In November 1837, one of the Jesuit fathers was asked
R
24 2
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
to give a retreat in the English College. Previously to that
time my impression had been that the relations between
Dr. Wiseman and the Society were not very cordial. The
effect of this retreat was remarkable on us all, from Dr.
Wiseman down to the least of us-for I may venture to
mention this much, since he said so himself. The inter-
course of the students amongst themselves became frank
and cordial beyond what it had been before, while their
relations with their Rector were more intimate. He came
out indeed in a new light, viz. as a spiritual counsellor.
Many of the students chose him for their director. It was
at this time he set himself the task of writing down his
meditation of each day, so as to accumulate a series for
the whole year."
Thege meditations were published in 1868 shortly after
the Cardinal's death. In the brief preface contributed by
his successor, Archbishop Manning says of them: "They
were intended to form the habit of mental prayer in the
youth committed to his charge, and to infuse into the
rising Priesthood of England a spirit of personal piety. In
them we still recognise the voice we knew so well. Some
will yet remember the days, sweet to memory, when these
meditations were read in the Venerabile College; and will
welcome them as a memorial of one to whom, under God,
they owe perhaps the vocation which is their highest
blessing. "
In the last year of his stay at the English College, Dr.
Wiseman received many distinguished Englishmen as
visitors; amongst them were Lord Macaulay, Mr. Gladstone,
Manning, the Rector of La vington as he then was. The
two last named called at the College with a letter of intro-
duction from M. Rio to Dr. Wiseman, and were invited by
him to spend the feast of St. Thomas of Canterbury with
him and the students. They came to the Mass, and the
places in the missals were found for them by Dr. Grant:
afterwards Bishop of Southwark. In an autobiographical
note Cardinal Manning thus refers to this visit: "On
St. Thomas of Canterbury's Day in 1838, Gladstone and I
called on Monsignor Wiseman as Rector of the English
College. The cappella cardinalizz'a was going to begin. He
THE COLLEGE UNDER DR. WISEMAN 243
sent for a student to take us into the chapel. It was
Thomas Grant, afterwards Bishop of Southwark. We stood
together under the window on the court side of the chapel
behind the cardinals.
II On St. Agnes' Da y 1839, Monsignor Wiseman and I
walked out to see the lambs blessed at Sta. Agnese fuori Ie
Mura. He was not even Bishop. How little we thought
that he and I should have the two first palliums in a new
Hierarch y in England."
Lord Macaulay was introduced to Dr. Wiseman in the
previous November, and he visited the English College and
the Vatican on the same day-a day which he describes in
his journal as one that II would furnish matter for a volume."
This is what he says about the Venera bile : II We went to
the English College and walked about the cloisters; interest-
ing cloisters to an Englishman. There lie several of our
native dignitaries, who died in Rome before the Reforma-
tion. There lie, too, the bones of many Jacobites, honest
martyrs to a worthless cause. We looked into the Refec-
tory, much like the halls of the small colleges at Can1bridge
in my time-that of Peterhouse for example. We found
the Principal, Dr. Wiseman, a young ecclesiastic full of
health and vigour-much such a ruddy, strapping divine
as I remember Whewell eighteen years ago-in purple
vestnlents standing in the cloisters. With him was Lord
Clifford, in the uniform of a Deputy Lieutenant of Devon-
shire, great from paying his court to Pope Gregory. He
was extremely civil, and talked with gratitude of General
Macaulay's kindness to him in Italy. Wiseman chimed in.
Indeed I hear my uncle's praises wherever I go. Lord
Clifford is not at all my notion of a great Catholic peer of
old family. I always imagine such a one proud and stately,
with the air of a man of rank, but not of fashion, such a
personage as :Mrs. Inchbald's Catholic Lord in the SimPle
Story, or as Sir Walter's Lord Glenallan, without the remorse.
But Lord Clifford is all quicksilver. He talked about the
Pope's reception of him and Lord Shrewsbury. His Holiness
is in high health and spirits, and is a little more merry
than strict formalists approve. Lord Shrewsbury says that
he seems one moment to be a boy eager for play, and the
244
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
next to be another Leo arresting the march of Attila. The
poor King of Prussia, it seems, is Attila. We went into
Dr. Wiseman's apartments, which are snugly furnished in
the English style, and altogether are very like the rOO1l1S of
a senior Fellow of Trinity. After visiting the library, where
I had a sight of the identical copy of Foxe's Book of IJl! artyrs
in which Parsons made notes for his answer I I took leave
of my countryman with great goodwill." 1
In 1839, Wiseman's future was determined by his
appointment as coadjutor to the Venerable Bishop Walsh,
Vicar-Apostolic of the Western District. This was his own
wish, for he had for some time felt himself called to labour
in his own country. The ecclesiastical authorities urged
this strongly, and the Pope finally acceded to their demands.
The number of the Vicars-Apostolic had been increased in
1840 from four to eight, and in May 1840 Dr. Wiseman
was named coadjutor to Bishop \Valsh and President of
Oscott College. On June 8 he was given the titular dignity
of Bishop of 1ielipotamus, which was chosen for him, as
we learn from a memorandum, for con1memoration of the
martyrdom of a Vicar-Apostolic of Tonquin, who was
Bishop of the same see: "not," he adds, H that he thought
himself worthy of such a title, but that he might ever
enjoy the patronage and example of so illustrious and good
a pastor."
Previous to his consecration as Bishop, Dr. Wiseman
went to make his spiritual retreat at the Passionist Convent
of SS. John and Paul. Cardinal Fransoni performed the
Episcopal consecration on June 8, in the chapel of the
English College. His mother, as he records, was present
at the ceremony; and on the following day he ordained
two priests for the English Mission and several deacons
and subdeacons. He afterwards administered the Sacra-
ment of Confirmation to a recent English convert, whom
he had received into the Church shortly before-the wife
of a Belgian Chargé d'Affaires.
We can well understand with what sorrow Dr. Wiseman
bade farewell to Rome and the venerable English College,
whose associations" were interwoven with all the ron1antic
1 Quoted in W. Ward's Life of Cardinal TYiseman, i. pp. 27 2 -3.
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THE COLLEGE LIBRARY
[To face p. 2H.
THE COLLEGE UNDER DR. WISEMAN 245
impressions of opening manhood." In a diary which he
kept at this time he notes: <C On the 1st of August, I left
Rome after twenty-two years (about) passed happily in
that city and in that College." He speaks of his grief at
leaving <C family, friends, companions, and many sacred
places, but especially the College, the Alma Mater of piety
and learning, the nurse and preserver of the liberal arts,
from which I have drawn any good in my possession. May
God deign to lay up in His bosom the grief with which I
said farewell to these and so many other joys, never to be
torn from my mind and heart. 'The Lord gave; the Lord
ha th taken a wa y: blessed be the name of the Lord: "
<C Writing in 18 57," says Mr. Wilfrid \Vard, <C he recalls
the lost sight of Rome, and the sacred feelings which
accompanied it and were ever ready to come back in their
old vividness up to the end of his life.
" , It was a sorrowful evening,' he writes, '. . . when,
after a residence in Rome prolonged through twenty-two
years, till affection clung to every old stone there, like the
moss which grew with it, this slender but strong tie was
cut, and most of future happiness had to be invested in
the mournful recollections of the past: "
.. Cum subit illius tristissima noctis imago,
Quæ mihi supremum tempus in urbe fuit,
Cum repeto noctem qua tot mihi cara reliqui
Labitur ex oculis nunc quoque gutta roeis."
Ovid, T'Y'tst., iii. 14.
I may, perhaps, be allowed to add my own personal
testimony to the way in which the memory of Rome and
the English College ever clung to the great Cardinal Wiseman
all through his life. As a small boy I have listened with
wonder to his recollections of the happy days he passed
in the Eternal City. I recall in particular one instance of
the way in which passing things brought back his thoughts
to those days. It was on the occasion of a private Ordina-
tion he had held at his own house in York Place, when he
conferred the sacred priesthood upon one of the Oblate
Fathers, the late Dr. Richards. I was there-I hardly
know now for what reason; but the future Cardinal
Manning-the <C Father" as he was then called at Bays-
246 THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROllfE
water-had taken me with hinl when he went with Father
Richards to present him for Orders. At the breakfast
afterwards Cardinal Wiseman, whose paternal affection for
the young was one of his many charming characteristics,
had placed me next to himself. On the table was a bunch
of grapes, and as he took up the silver scissors to cut them
the sight reminded him of Italy and of Monte Porzio, and
he went into a long description of the beauties of that
country of sunshine, and spoke of the view from his window
at Porzio and of the pergola, with its hanging clusters of
grapes, in the garden below. It was the first time I had
ever heard of Monte Porzio; but I could see, from the way
in which his face lit up, how his affections still clung to the
old home of his youth.
CONCLUSION
THE rest of the history of the English College from the
departure of Cardinal \Viseman to the present day is too
recent to require any full treatment. When Dr. Wiseman
was consecrated Bishop in 1840, he was succeeded in the post
of Rector by the then Vice-Rector, Dr. Baggs, who had
come to the College in 1825. He was ordained priest in 1830,
and had becon1e Vice-Rector on the departure of Dr. Erring-
ton in 1832. On the death of Bishop Baines, Vicar-Apostolic
of the Western District, Dr. Baggs was chosen to succeed
him, and was consecrated titular Bishop of Pella in the
Church of San Gregorio, Rome, on January 28, 1844.
On April 13 of that year, 1844, Dr. Thomas Grant was
named Pro-Rector until the English Bishops had been
consulted as to the choice of a successor to Bishop Baggs.
and in October he was appointed Rector. Dr. Grant had
come to the English College in 1836 in the second year of
Philosophy. and had been ordained priest in 1841. shortly
after which he was n1ade a Doctor of Divinity. and became
Secretary to Cardinal Acton. He was a proficient in Latin.
French and Italian. and was well versed in Canon Law.
and" through his connection with Cardinal Acton became
onc of the most accomplished canonists in Rome. I twas
during his Rectorship of the English College that the nego-
tiations for the restoration of the Catholic Hierarchy of
England were undertaken. and Bishop Ullathorne. who
was chiefly engaged upon the matter. bears testimony to the
aid afforded by Dr. Grant to bring about the successful issue
of the business. "He initiated me." he writes. "into the
elements of Canon Law. and into the Constitution and
working of the Roman Congregations. He aided me in
negotiations, revised my papers, translated them and shaped
them; and having much influence at Propaganda, he used
that influence in my service, as in the service of all the
247
248 THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
Bishops. Nothing escaped his attention in England or at
Rome that demanded the attention of the Vicars-Apostolic,
whether as individuals or as a body. A note from him
always contained the pith of the matter, whilst by action
he had already not unfrequently anticipated the difficulty.
We have never had an agent in my time who comprehended
the real functions of an agent as he did. He never by silence
or excessive action got you into a difficulty, but he got you
out of many. Above all, he never left you in the dark."
The erection of the Hierarchy was the prelude to a great
change in the life of Dr. Grant. Bya decree of Propaganda,
June 16, 1851, he was appointed to the newly created see
of Southwark, and this appointment was confirmed by brief,
June 185I.
U When he was proposed for the see of Southwark," wrote
Bishop Ullathorne, U Monsignor Barnabò told Cardinal
Wiseman that he should regret his removal from Rome, that
he had never misled them in any transaction; and that his
documents were so complete and accurate that they de-
pended on them, and it was never requisite to draw them
up anew." He was consecrated in the chapel of the English
College on July 6, 1851, by Cardinal Fransoni, Prefect of the
Propaganda, and left the Eternal City on September 2.
He always remained a firm friend of the Venerabile, and
on his three subsequent visits to Rome-in December 1854,
on the occasion of the definition of the dogma of the Immacu-
late Conception; in June 1867, for the Canonisation of the
Japanese martyrs; and in December 1869, for the Vatican
Council-he was a welcome guest at the College. On his
last visit, he was very ill, and on February 14, 1870, was
seized with a paroxysm of pain in the Council-hall, fell down,
and had to be carried back to the English College. On
March 7 he was honoured with a visit in his sick-room
from Pius IX, but being son1ewhat better, accompanied the
Pope to see the Church of St. Thomas of Canterbury, then
in course of erection. He never recovered, and died at the
College on June 1, 1870. Pius IX when he heard of his
death, exc1ain1ed, U Un altro santo in Paradiso."
On his death, Bishop Ulla thorne wrote his appreciation of
the work he þad done in the early days of the Hierarchy.
CONCLUSION
49
Ie His acuteness, learning, readiness of resource and know-
ledge of the fornls of ecclesiastical business made him
invaluable to our joint counsels at home, whether in Synods
or in our yearly episcopal meetings; and his obligingness,
his untiring spirit of work, and the expedition and accuracy
with which he struck off documents in Latin, Italian or
English, naturally brought the greater part of such work on
his shoulders. In his gentle humility he completely effaced
the consciousness that he was of especial use and importance
to us."
Bishop Grant was succeeded by Dr. Robert Cornthwaite
in the Rectorship, who resigned in 1857 and was subsequently
made Bishop of Beverley in 1861. On the division of that
diocese, Dr. Comthwaite was translated to Leeds in Decem-
ber 1878, and ruled the see till 1890, when he died.
During the rule of Dr. Cornthwaite a project was started
in Rome, which although not immediately connected with
the English College at first, was subsequently closely allied
to it. This was the foundation of what was at first known
as the Collegl:o Ecclesiastico, then as the Collegio Pio, and
finally was re-constituted by Pope Leo XIII as the Collegio
Beda. A project was started in 1852 for establishing in
Rome a house for the reception of converts who were
desirous of studying for the Church, and for other English
priests who wished to work at some special studies, for all
of whom the discipline, etc. of the English College was
unsuitable. The idea was started by Monsignor Talbot,
then in hjs first year as Cameriere Participante at the
Vatican. It was encouraged by the Pope and warmly
approved by Cardinal \Viseman. In the spring of 1852
there was taken a part of the house of the C01lvertendi in the
Piazza Scossacavalli-a place, as Cardinal \Viseman con-
sidered, very suitable, as H it was at least partly built with
English money by Sir Thomas Dereham, who is buried in
the English College." 1
At the same time Cardinal Wiseman expressed his satis-
faction at the project. H I am delighted," he writes, It at
the idea of the New College. Take an opportunity of
thanking His Holiness most earnestly in my name. I look
1 Letter to Monsignor Talbot, Feb. 8, :t85
,
250 THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROJlrIE
to immense advantages from such an institution, especially
by its thoroughly Romanising the converts. You are right
in your idea that Rome must convert England, for I attribute
everything that has been done to its influence. Ritual,
devotions, religious Orders, quarantore, confraternities,
frequent communions, love of the Saints, Gesù Sacrame11tato,
fearlessness of faith, attachment to the Holy See, more
generous views of religion, a milder casuistry, more sub-
mission to rule, and less of bold ignorant self-guidance,
greater faith in indulgences, miracles, etc. (in fact more active
faith), the churches open all day, and a hundred more things
I could trace directly to the influence of Rome and its College
and teaching. Now these things have influenced conversions
far more than learning and eloquence. The Office of Rector
to the new College will be an arduous one, as he must unite
great learning with sound piety and firmness with sweetness.
l'vlr. Scratton, brother of the first convert of that name, is
anxious to study for the Church and would just do for this
College; he is left utterly destitute by his conversion."
In a subsequent letter the Cardinal suggested that he had
advised two students to go to the College, and gives the
. names of Edward Howard, the future Cardinal, and Edmund
Stonor, afterwards known to generations in Rome as Arch-
bishop Stonor. It was not till the autumn of 1852, however,
that the place was ready for occupation, and on Sunday, No-
vember 21, Monsignor Talbot presented to the Holy Father
"the first six students of the 'Collegio Ecc1esiastico,'
Coleridge, Belaney, Scratton, ShortIand, Bodley and Giles."
" The Holy Father," he writes, " made them a very beautiful
address, urging upon them the necessity of acquiring Ecclesi-
astical spirit, etc. Afterwards I got leave to dine with them
in the Refectory. The Maggiordomo presided at the table;
on one side of him was Anighi, on the other Monsignor
Vitelleschi. At another table were Sacchetti, Serlupi, Dr.
Comthwaite and Strickland. At the bottom there was
another table at which were Frennola and Don Pietro-at
my own table were Coleridge, Belaney, Scratton, Giles and
Bodley. The dinner was simple enough. After dinner the
iaggiordomo gave us what is called' Pistachio.' We had
our coffee upstairs. After coffee we had a series of persons
CONCL USION
25 1
coming to see US; all the gentlemen Catholics almost in
Rome-even Dr. Grant came. Dr. Cornthwaite gave a
little address, very fairly worded, then was the Veni Creator
sung and afterwards there was the Benediction of the B.
Sacrament, at which the English College sung. Everything
went off very well."
In 1857, Dr. Lewis English succeeded as Rector of the
Venerabile. He had been for some years Rector of the
separate College of the Pio, which had now been transferred
to premises in the English College, and it would seem that,
on Dr. Cornthwaite's retirement, it was thought in Rome to
be a good thing to appoint him as Rector of the two united
establishments. From various letters that exist, it appears
that in this the English Bishops were not fully consulted,
and certainly some of them did not welcome the appointment.
Cardinal Ferretti, who was at the time Protector of the two
Colleges, in issuing the document uniting the institutes,
decrees that there was to be only one Rector and two Vice-
Rectors, one for each of the two colleges, the Venerabile
and the Pio. The funds were to be administered separately,
and the only things in common were to be the Church and
the Refectory.
Dr. English was in a very bad state of health, and it looks
as if he had made it clear to the authorities in Rome, that
if he became Rector of the English College, he could not
undertake to be the agent of the English Bishops, as previous
Rectors from Dr. Gradwell's time had been, and also that
he would be unable to administer the property belonging
to the two Colleges, and suggested the appointment of some
one to see to this part of the Rector's duties.
In the autumn of 1857, Dr. English was in England, but
did not put himself in communication with the Bishops;
and Cardinal Wiseman, in a letter to Monsignor Talbot,
written from London on October 27, thus speaks about the
appointment: "I have written to Cardinal Ferretti about
Dr. English's appointment. But I am sorry to say that
accounts of his health are very bad. I have not seen him,
but Dr. Goss told Edmund Stonor ten or twelve days ago
that he was too ill to say Mass on Sundays, that he had
fainting fits, and that one lung was gone. This he had
25 2
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
heard from a person who had just seen him. Dr. Clifford
told me his brother's (Mgr. English's) accounts are not as
bad as that, but far from good. He is with him."
A few days later, Cardinal Wiseman wrote more fully on
the subject of this appointment. H I have heard no more
of Dr. English, and of course not from hin1 since my last. I
do not think he has made his existence known to any of the
Bishops. I have always been candid with you, and therefore
you will allow me to say, that I fear disappointments are
before us in the College which will now have one head. Dr.
E. it is understood will not accept the agency. The conse-
quence will be that all correspondence will cease between
the Bishops and Rector, except on purely College matters.
A letter perhaps once a year calling for subjects or announ-
cing the return or death of one, will be the extent of inter-
course. Can the interests of the Bishops in the College
be thus kept up? Can they feel the confidence they should
have in one to whom they ought to entrust their choicest
subjects, those whom they wish to have most attached to
themselves and their dioceses? (Especially as some are
under the impression that Dr. E. speaks contemptuously
of the English Bishops.) I own I cannot think so, nor can I
feel so. The agency kept up a constant correspondence
between most of the Bishops, such as cannot write Italian,
and the Rector. It was through this that they knew one
another. In a letter of business a kind message would be
sent to the students by the Bishop and in return their
health, conduct, abilities and character were made known
to him. Formal correspondence on the College would
never take place, nor would it be right to have too much
going on. Then of course the head of the College, cut off
from England, and never able to say a word from the Bishops
to their pupils, could not keep up their interest in it; and
besides could know nothing for Propaganda of what was
going on, except from newspapers, etc. As long as you are
in Rome this may not matter, but it is a new system that is
going to be introduced after just forty years' experience
of the contrary.
H I am wrong, however, in saying that it is a new system;
it is a return to one that previously existed, with no good
CONCLUSION
253
success. After the suppression and before it, the Bishops
were obliged to have an agent, who either had money himself
(as Monsignor Stonor) or ecclesiastical provision of some
sort, besides funds yet existing in Rome, but now enjoyed
by the Rector as agent. \Vith the Rector of the College
the Bishops had no communication. '-"fiat was the con-
sequence? They would send no students. I ha ve seen
Bp. Challoner's answers to Propaganda requesting the
Bishops to send students. He and almost all declined. An
agent in England picked them up from the streets, and the
history of most of them as they figure in the archives of the
English College, where I have often pondered over them, is
indeed lamentable. I may mention that one of them,
considered a model, apostatised immediately, but thank
God died three or four years ago in Westminster, reconciled
in extreme old age. . . . God forbid that I should anticipate
anything so horrible in our days under the patronage of
the H.F., a good Rector and your attention. But why,
after forty years of a system begun by Pius VII and Consalvi,
in sPite of powerful opposition in Rome (for I ha ve the
minute history of the efforts made to keep Dr. Gradwell out
of the Rectorship and to disjoin the offices). which has
answered not ill, for every Rector has been found worthy
of the Episcopate and scarcely a scandal has happened in
any Roman priest and not one in the College, why, I ask,
after this experience, commenced under such auspices,
return to try another of which the experience and result were
so calamitous? Depend upon it, my dear Friend, the
disconnection of the Rector from the Bishops, the making
the latter mere stokers to throw in fuel and him sole engineer
is, at the best, a new experiment, the fruits of which I greatly
fear.
It But there is another serious difficulty. An agent there
must be in Rome. Hitherto the Rector, one of the clergy
and considered as prospectively almost certain to be a
bishop, was the confident1'al agent of all. He was trusted
in the most delicate affairs between a bishop and his priest
or priests. Nay, he was entrusted with knowledge of our
mutual 'ilziseriæ, differences of opinion, etc. If there were
human weaknesses in the Episcopate he knew it from our-
254 THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
selves and could prudently inform the H.F. or Propaganda
of what was going on. Who is to stand in this delicate
position ? We cannot afford to keep a person for the agency
nor should we get the Bishops to agree on any separate
person, i. e. not belonging to us by the College connection.
Is it to be some Italian, who knows nothing of England and
cannot even pronounce our names? Would you give one
our business on 'trusts: government bills, education, etc. ?
Or must it be the Rector of the Irish or Scotch Colleges?
What can either know of our clergy and of our social position
or of our Colleges, or of our progress and institutions more
than an Italian? We (the Bishops) are all perplexed
beyond measure and shall probably have to meet. My
opinion is that the official tie with the Rector once broken,
each will seek his own agent, one a Benedictine, another an
Italian, a third a layman (Tempest, e. g.), and so each carrying
his separate tale to Propaganda, and opening a door to
intrigue. One Bishop wanted to leave Dr. Cornthwaite
because he did not think he pushed his side enough-the only
obstacle was the general bond of the College.
" You see, therefore, my opinion clearly, on this subject.
Of course whatever the Holy Father decides will be cheer-
fully carried out, but an intimate acquaintance (such as
no one else can have) with the history of our past relations
with the Holy See and of the College gives me some claim
to a hearing.
" And no less do I feel that I can speak on another
subject: the intended revolution in the administration of
the College. A residence of twenty-two years in a house,
in every state from being the last and youngest student to
its rectorship, gives one some right to speak. As a student
I had not only Dr. Gradwell's kind confidence, but against
my will that of Tosti, Nicolai and other persons connected
with the temporals of the house. (Dr. G. from the day I
entered it looked on me as his future successor. I know
not why.) As Vice-Rector I had to superintend the expendi-
ture, etc. But as Rector I had the invaluable assistance
of my present Coadjutor (Dr. Errington), stern, inflexible
and minutely accurate in looking into every bill, every book
and every employment of money. The vineyards, etc.
CONCLUSION
255
were all brought by him from a state of long neglect under
the Deþutati, above mentioned, into splendid order, the
fruit of which the present generation is tasting. But it
so happened that just then the first revolution broke out,
and for months or rather years payn1ents were suspended to
us from the Dataria funds, etc. Yet we were left with thirty
students I Still we pulled through everything, and how?
Not by upsetting the system, which is sound, honest and
accurate, but by working it well and minutely. Dr. Erring-
ton and Signor Bianchini worked together day and night;
every n10nth drew up a þreventivo or budget, made it fit to
our incomings, or put off expenses not necessary. We did
not stint the students in anything, we did not screw or
straighten anyone. It was his vjgorous and necessary
watchfulness and by his cordial assistance which encouraged
others and gained their no less hearty co-operation, that a
most rigid economy was attained and at the same time the
system was fully tested and found to be valid and honest.
Depend upon it, that if he had discovered any cooking of
accounts, or fraud, or peculation or excessive profits or gain,
he would never have rested till it was cured. . . . My expe-
rience in life has led me to mistrust those who come forward
on the principle that they will turn everything topsy-turvy
and put everyone and everything right. They easily
overthrow, but seldom build up. Such was poor Dr. Baines.
He wanted to change any and everything and have a new
systeln, and everything he did has perished."
In more than one subsequent letter the Cardinal returned
to the subject of the English College, about which he was
anxious. Thus in November 1862 he writes: U Dr. English
is, I fear, very ill. The very fact of his coming to change
air at this time by leaving Italy for England, shows the
restlessness and capriciousness of a fatal malady. Should it
please Providence to take him away, I hope immense care
will be taken about his successor; and that we shall be able,
as always hitherto, to recommend a Rector also our agent.
I must own that I do not feel easy about matters in the
College and that I hope there will be time for opening my
mind, should such a misfortune as I have anticipated occur,
more fully than it would be delicate to do at present."
256 THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
II As to the College," he writes on February 10, 186 3,
"I have no desire that you should propose to have any official
investigation about the property. On the contrary, I dread
any intervention in its affairs, spiritual or temporal. I have
been glad that you should be Pro-Rector for this very reason,
that the superiors are all national. This I deem essential
to its utility. . . . I dread any return to Italian government,
or any introduction of the element into the house. I was
twenty-two years in it-student and superior-and I know
my sufferings and those of others, during many years of the
time. But you knew G. at ascott, an intriguer of the first
water; and I feel certain that the introduction of one of that
family into the College would end in mischief. Yet one seems
to have wormed himself completely in to the V. R. 's confidence.
But enough of this: I am sure you will be alive to this
danger. "
Dr. English was succeeded in 1863 by Dr. Neve of the
Clifton diocese. At this time Monsignor Talbot was Pro-
Protector of the English College, and from the first there was
little sympathy between him and Dr. Neve, whom he evi-
dently regarded as one of the old school and opposed to any
changes for the better-or what he regarded as better-in
the regimen of the Venerabile. Archbishop Manning had
at this time succeeded Cardinal \Viseman as head of the
English Hierarchy and Monsjgnor Talbot made no secret of
his disappointment at the attitude of Dr. Neve. The new
Archbishop of Westminster had long desired to see radical
changes in the education and discipline of the English Semi-
naries, which he regarded as antiquated and not adapted
to modern requirements. In his predecessor's time he had
endeavoured to effect what he considered as essential by
getting Cardinal \Viseman to place the Fathers of the
Oblate Congregation, which he had founded at Bayswater,
at St. Edmund's College, Ware. He was defeated in this
project by the action of some of the Bishops and the Chapter
of vVestminster. He had then set up a small Community
of Oblates in Rome and had placed at the head of it Dr.
O'Callaghan, a fonner professor at St. Edmund's. Within
a few years of his becoming Archbishop, Manning explained
to Mgr. Talbot why he thought it imperative on him to do
CONCLUSION
257
something to improve ecclesiastical education: "I cannot
tell you the dearth of men above the average or out of the
line of routine in this diocese, indeed in England generally.
Good, zealous, faithful, unworldly as our priests are, their
formation has not lifted them above the old level. We are
rapidly coming in contact with public opinion and with
society in such a way as to make a new race of men absolutely
necessary. II
Mgr. Talbot continued to write to England complaints
about the English College, and on December 18, 1866, Arch-
bishop Manning wrote: "What you tell me of the English
College is not new to me. I am afraid all you say is true:
and I see no cure but the complete remodelling of it. It is
a sad thing that our noblest College should be so little
appreciated." A few weeks later he proposed to :Mgr.
Talbot to draw up a scheme for reorganising the Venerabile
and to send it by the Pope's comn1and to the English Bishops.
He adds: " Would not the Sulpicians take it? and can it be
used for professors, and not missionaries only? I do not
know a man to name for it in England. I say Sulpicians
because they would not look for subjects; and I hardly know
any other Order which would not; and some I know certainly
would. II
Mgr. Talbot replied by suggesting the plan of the
placing it again under the Society of Jesus. To this the
Archbishop objected, and expressed his belief that all the
English Bishops would oppose that scheme, and added that
in his opinion "what was wanted is three good rulers like
Fr. O'Callaghan. The qualities needed are to be found, I
believe, in England. I will gladly give any man in this
diocese if there were one fit. But the real difficulty is their
bad tradition. If there were a system like the discipline of
Sta. Chiara introduced, the rector, even if a common man,
would be able to work it. Now the I{ector [Dr. Neve] is
too weak to resist the tradition of liberty and laxity. The
mixture of men from so many colleges will always make
confusion, till a strong discipline is introduced.
" If the Holy Father would do this, and if need be close
and reopen it like the Academia, it might be done. The
Apollinare would afford an example of discipline.
s
258 THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
"We have a fatal notion that Englishmen must be
treated altogether differently. Somewhat perhaps, but in
the main the same discipline ought to be imposed."
Finally Mgr. Talbot, without speaking to the English
Bishops, who were all in Rome for the Centenary of St.
Peter in 1867, proposed to the Pope to appoint Father
O'Callaghan, the head of the English Oblates in the Eternal
City, Rector in place of Dr. Neve, who had offered his
resignation on the suggestion of Talbot. At the end of July
of this year he announced this nomination to the Archbishop
of Westminster, who advised him, if any of the Bishops
complained, "to write a full and weighed letter on the whole
subject of the English College as a Pontifical College. It
is thought to belong to England, not to belong to Rome for
England." 1
Shortly after the appointment of Dr. Neve to the Rector-
ship of the venerable English College, Mgr. Talbot, whose
position at the Vatican gave him great influence with Pope
Pius IX, conceived the idea of rebuilding the church attached
to the College, which had been destroyed during the period
of the revolution, and the ruins of which were described by
Cardinal Wiseman, when he came as a student in 1818.
Mgr. Talbot had been named Pro-Protector of the College
and he persuaded the Holy Father to favour the scheme.
Provost Manning, as he was then, was in Rome at the end
of 1863, and the idea must have been discussed with him and
encouraged, since shortly after his departure on January I,
1864, a general appeal for the necessary funds was sent out
in the names of Mgr. " George Talbot, Protonotary Apostolic
and Private Chamberlain of His Holiness, Delegate Pro-
Protector of the English College" and" Frederick Neve,
Rector of the English College." It is an interesting docu-
ment for the history of the Venerabile, and is worth quoting
at some length.
H To the Catholics of England, and of the whole Church,
for the rebuilding of the English Church in Rome.
H England anciently possessed several churches in Rome;
one dedicated to the Most Holy Trinity, a second to St.
Thomas of Canterbury, and a third in Trastevere to St.
1 See Purcell's Life, ü. pp. 3 66 se 1.
CONCLUSION
259
Edmund King and Martyr. These were united in the
Church attached to the ancient Hospital, now the Venerable
College of St. Thomas, from whom the two establishments
naturally took their title. This concentration of all the
English Institutions in Rome, is represented in the beautiful
painting by the Florentine, Durante Alberti, yet preserved
in the College, and formerly the Altarpiece of the church.
" The old church was unroofed towards the close of the
last century, while the College was uninhabited; but its
columns and walls remained standing, when it was recolonised
in 1819. A few of those who then occupied it remain to
remember · the old temple' in which :Martyrs had sung the
divine praises and had celebrated their first Mass.
" After so many years' exposure to the weather, it was
considered necessary to demolish what remained standing
of this poor, but venerable, edifice, and to cover the ground
with a temporary building of such a form, as n1ight one day
serve for the groundwork of a new church. Indeed plans for
rebuilding it were obtained at the time at considerable
expense; one being prepared by the celebrated Valadier.
.. From this brief narrative it will appear that the idea
of one day restoring the church of · St. Thomas of the
English ' 1 has never been abandoned. . . .
.. I. Other national churches such as that of Spain which
were abandoned and disfigured at the same period as ours,
have been not only restored but enriched.
.. II. We are thus left almost alone, among the greater
countries of Europe, without a national church, in the
Catholic metropolis, where even small states and cities have
their representative churches.
.. III. Yet more English visit Rome than natives of any
other country. We are obliged every year to borrow
ch urches in which to preach to them. How much nlore
decorous it would be for us to do so in a sacred building of
our own where our countrymen would naturally expect to
find instruction in their native language, and where they
would go, as a matter of course, for the catechising of their
1 As national churches are described in Rome, e. g., .. San Luigi dei
Francesi, San Nicola dei Lorenesi, Sant' Antonio del Portoghesi, San
Stanislao dei Polacchi. etc:'
260 THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
children, and for the confession of the many who cannot
speak any foreign tongue. J J
Then, after speaking of the restoration of the Ecclesias-
tical Hierarchy in England, the appellants point out that
this" restored Church of the nation" would" attest publicly
the perfect union and accord of English Catholics with the
Chair of Peter, in their Orders, their belief, their Sacraments
and in every rite and practice. Its existence in Rome
would be a solid, enduring and ever-speaking attestation of
fidelity, submission and filial reverence."
They point out that it is at this time more than a mere
English work when St. Thomas is selected as a " patron and
protector of the Church's choicest and most delicate privi-
leges" which are everywhere being assailed by "the adverse
powers of this world:' And they say that the" proposal
has received the unstinted approval and most cordial blessing
of our Holy Father."
The appeal thus launched was translated into French
and Italian, and Mgr. Talbot wrote personally to many
whom he thought would be able to further it. The re-
sponse was not what he had expected. Cardinal Wisen1an
headed the list of subscriptions with frso and Mr. Thomas
Weld Blundell gave a sinrilar sum. Miss English was the
largest donor of f200, and there were five persons, namely
the Duchess of Norfolk, the Duchess of Leeds, Mr. Monteith
and Miss Tasker, who sent froo each, Mgr. Talbot himself
contributing a similar sum. There were several sums of
lso, but most of the donations were for sn1all amounts.
The replies received to the personal letters of Mgr.
Talbot were not encouraging. Some of the writers objected
to having their names associated with the political portions
of the appeal, thinking it inopportune to introduce this
element into the question. Many excused themselves from
giving any large sum, on account of the many claims to
support Catholic charities in England. In their opinion the
needs of their own country for churches, schools, orphanages J
etc., were at the moment overwhelming, and they could do
more good to religion by giving all they could spare to help
these, than in building another church which was not
necessary in a city of churches like Rome.
As a sample of what was evidently the general feeling
CONCLUSION
261
anlong English Catholics a few sentences from a letter
written to Mgr. Talbot by Lord Petre in May I864 may
usefully be given, if only to excuse the apparent indifference
in England to the project. "I fear," he writes, "that I
cannot reply to your letter of the 5th in the way you expect
and I should desire. I should of course with great pleasure
give a small contribution to the great work you advocate,
but I must tell you candidly that I cannot do more. I quite
agree with you that it would be a magnificent undertaking,
but, looking at it from a practical point of view, I cannot
conceal from myself that it would be impossible, as I believe,
for the Catholics of England to carry it out without neglecting
more urgent wants at home. You know as well as I do the
sad deficiency in London of church accommodation and
priests for the poor; our orphanages and reformatories too-
inadequate as they are to our wants
are barely kept afloat
-and we have the immediate prospect of a heavy demand
on our resources to provide establishments in which to
receive the poor children from the workhouses, whom we
have now every reason to believe that the Committee of the
House of Commons will recomnlend shall be given to us.
You wiU, I am sure, believe me when I say that I hesitate in
opposing even such considerations as these-to a project
recommended as this is. Others perhaps more competent
to judge may take a different view; I can only say most
sincerely that I hope I am wrong and that it may be found
possible to carry out your great design without loss to our
poor and unprovided for at home."
Mgr. Talbot was not discouraged, although saddened by
what he conceived to be the apathy of English Catholics,
and preparations were made for commencing the work. The
architect was chosen in the person of Signor Vespignani, and
Talbot wrote to get the prices of Aberdeen granite for the
columns. At first it was intended to employ Edward Pugin
to design the proposed church, and he was instructed by
Mgr. Talbot to draw up plans for a building to cost some
f8000. These were prepared, but before the work was put
in hand other counsels had prevailed and Pugin was told by
Mgr. Talbot that it was found necessary to have an Italian
architect. Pugin was naturally indignant and c1ainled his
commission of f200 for what he had done. \Vhen he was
262 THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
subsequently shown the drawings of Vespignani, he wrote
U an indignant protest against a monstrosity," and added,
" I believe there is still sufficient good taste in England to
make the whole schenle abortive if the salient points of that
design were fairly put before the public. . . . I really think I
ought to write a pamphlet entitled St. Thomas of Canterbury
at home and abroad, I am' quite sure it would be a couþ after
the photograph I saw."
Pope Pius IX himself laid the foundation stone on
February 6, r866. Meanwhile Cardinal Wiseman had died,
and Archbishop Manning had succeeded at \Vestminster,
and still the church of the English in Rome remained
unfinished for want of the necessary funds. The advertise-
ments which appeared in the English Catholic papers
said: "The Holy Father has himself given the initiative
to the work of building a fitting church for the use of the
English nation in Rome and of the Sacred Congregation
of Ecclesiastical Immunities, who annually attend in St.
Thomas's Church on his Feast Day. It may also be said
that the present chapel of the English College in Rome . . .
is much too slnall for the present requirements of the College:
from this fact, therefore, it is evident how unworthy this
chapel is of its character of a National Church, and as a
monUlnent of the great Patron and Defender of the Church's
liberties. "
In a letter, quoted above, Mgr. Talbot referred to Pope
Pius IX having laid the foundation stone of the Church of
St. Thomas. Some account of that visit of the Holy Father
to the English College, and of his address on that occasion,
must not be on1itted here. The Tablet 1 prints a full account
of the ceremony, which was fixed for February 6, 1866.
On the previous evening :Mgr. Talbot, the Delegate Protector
of the English College, assisted by the Rector, Dr. Neve and
Mgr. Stonor, erected the cross in the ground already occupied
by the outer walls of the church and blessed the ground.
At ten o'clock on the day itself, February 6, the Swiss
Guards took up their position at the door of the College to
await the arrival of the Pope, who was expected an hour later.
Excellent preparations had been made for the visitors and for
1 February 17. 1866.
CONCLUSION
263
the reception of the Holy Father. On the right hand of the
lower half of the church the Pontifical throne with its
crimson velvet canopy had been erected, and immediately
opposite the altar prepared for the ceremony, which covered
the hollow destined for the reception of the foundation stone
forty feet below the level. "The well prepared for its descent
was lighted at the bottom, and a pulley and cord of crimson
silk suspended it from the crane above the altar. A beautiful
silver casket containing the Charter of the church, written
on parchment, and the coins of the present reign was placed
on a small credence table."
The left wing of the church was devoted to the galleries
for spectators and assistants. The front row was railed off
for the accommodation of the royal family of Naples. The
lower row was prepared for Bishops, Roman Princes and
other distinguished visitors. Among the Bishops present
were the Australian Bishops of Bathurst and Maitland with
their Venerable Prin1ate, Archbishop Polding. The General
of the Jesuits, the Rectors of the Scottish and Irish Colleges
and many others attended the ceremony.
Punctually at eleven o'clock His Holiness arrived,
accompanied by his Noble Guard and the usual members of
his household. An inscription had been placed over the
door, and another on the wall of the church facing the throne.
The first ran thus :-
PIE IX, PONTIFEX MAXIME
HIERARCHICI ORDINIS APUD ANGLOS RESTITUTOR
COLLEGII PIE AucTOR
CATHOLICI NOMINIS IN BRITTANNIÆ INSULIS AMPLIFICATOR
TIBI COLLEGIUM N. PLAUDIT
TE PARENTEM VOCAT
TE ALTERUM GREGORIUM
SALUTAT.
The second inscription was as follows :-
IN HONOREM: THOMÆ EPISCOPI CANTUARIENS MARTYRIS
PIUS IX, PONTIFEX MAXIMUS
LAPIDEM AUSPICALEM NOVÆ ÆDIS AMPLIORIS
PRIORE VETERI DIS]ECTA RERUM ASPERITATIBUS
SECULO SUPERIORI
SOLEMNIBUS CÆRIMONIIS POSUIT VIII, ID. FEB. A.D.
MDCCCLXVI
Eo CONSILIO UT JURIS SACRI VINDICI
INSIGNE AD fOSTERITATIS ERUDITIONEM MONUMENTUM
CONSTITUERETUR.
264 THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
After the ceremony of blessing the stone and lowering it
to its position had been completed, the Pope ascended his
throne and spoke as follows:-
(( England! that country so celebrated for its commerce.
England! that land so praised for its industry. England!
whose provinces like the scattered members of a great body
cover so large a space on the surface of the globe! England!
Queen of the Seas. Ah! how far grander and higher a title
did she once enjoy, when men named her the Land of Saints
-a title as superior to those which I have emumerated, as
spirit is to n1atter, as Heaven to Earth.
(( But these saints have remembered their native country,
and among them, him to whom this church is about to be
dedicated, the great St. Thomas, Archbishop of Canterbury.
who rather than yield to the impious efforts of the great ones
of the earth, feared not to sacrifice his liberty and his life.
(< He 1i ves now in the bosom of God! Thomas, in the
enjoyment of the Beatific vision, has seen th.1t he possessed
in Rome a church poor and naked, reduced to the proportions
of a chapel. He has seen that these walls barely afforded
accommodation to the young Levites destined to revive
the faith in the Land of Saints, that they were too narrow for
them to worship in, and he has exclaimed with the prophet
Isaiah: A ngltstus est mihi locus! It
Then Pope Pius IX traced a picture of the religious
destitution of England in the last century, and contrasted it
with revival seen during the past twenty years, and expressed
his conviction that the voice of St. Thomas had carried
God's blessing with it and had" penetrated to the hearts
of hundreds of Englishmen who will not leave imperfect
this their pious work."
When the ceremony was ended the Holy Father
mounted to the first floor, where a breakfast was prepared
in the Library. After which the Rector of the Venerabile.
read an eloquent address to him, and the company were
presented to him before his departure.
In 1866, Mgr. Talbot started another campaign to get
funds. He again wrote nun1erous letters to people in
England. In one of them he says: "Ever since the Holy
Father laid the First Stone of our National Church of
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CONCLUSION
265
St. Thomas of Canterbury in Rome, the works have proceeded
without intermission. We have met with great difficulties
in making the foundations at a depth of fifty feet, which has
involved expenses much beyond our expectations.
.. I must therefore again make an appeal to the Catholics
of England, in order to complete the work for which many
have already sent such generous contributions. . . . If all
the Catholics of England would only contribute f2000 a
year for three years towards the National undertaking, the
church would be finished." In the printed appeal which
appeared in the English papers on August 25, I866, Mgr.
Talbot says that in the homily made by Pope Pius IX on
the occasion of laying the first stone of the National Church,
.. His Holiness expressed his confidence that the work thus
auspiciously comlnenced would not be left unfinished by
the English nation. The church is already rising, but a
further sum of f3000 is required to complete it."
Still the desired subscriptions were not received, and
Mgr. Talbot wrote to England that he had practically made
up his mind to abandon the attempt of completing the
church. Writing from Mill Hill on October IO, I867, Father
Herbert Vaughan, as he was then, says: .. The Archbishop
told me two days ago that you were thinking of giving up
the work of St. Thomas's Church. I heard it with sorrow.
This must not be so. Why not let it extend itself over ten
years, if need be, or even more, instead of over five as you
had intended? It will never do to abandon it, now that
you have done so much and overcome so many obstacles."
In answer to a letter of lament from Mgr. Talbot at
the slackness of English Catholics to respond, Fr. Weld, S.J.,
explains the numerous calls upon the generosity of English
Catholics at this period, to which he adds: .. I think it is
fair to them to say that few people out of England can
understand. . . I think it is fair to them to bear in mind
the facts which I have mentioned (i. e., the need of schools,
churches, orphanages, reformatories, etc.), as I think this
will remove any idea that they are niggardly in their alms,
the fact being that the almsgiving is very great in proportion
to the means and to a very great extent spent upon objects
of extreme necessity."
266 THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
At the end of 1866, Mgr. Talbot wrote to England cr on
a matter of great importance." cr We find," he says, cr that
we shall be obliged to stop the works of the Church of St.
Thomas next Christmas and throw ourselves on Providence,
waiting for a time when it can be completed. You know
that in order to carry out the design, part of a house has
had to come down which yielded about a hundred a year
to the College. We have always hoped that money would
have come in in order to payoff this debt. Now I feel very
n1uch disheartened, and as I know the interest you take in
the College, I write to ask you to give me in writing your
promise to pay as soon as you can the two thousand pounds
you have promised to the College."
The work progressed very slowly for another twenty
years, and it was not till 1888 that the subscription list
was closed by Dr. O'Callaghan, who succeeded Dr. Neve
in 1867. Even to complete the work as it is, with the apse
left out, it was necessary to spend a good deal of the revenue
of the College and also of the Collegio Pio, as well as to
realise some of the College capital. In preparing for the
apse, which was never built, the foundations of the adjoining
house had been cut through, which when it was repaired in
the year 1917 were found to be in a dangerous state and
required the expenditure of a considerable sum of money
to make the premises safe.
We need only add that the church was opened informally
in 1888 and was never consecrated.
Dr. O'Callaghan ruled the English College for twenty-one
years. In 1887 he was appointed to the see of Hexham
and Newcastle and was consecrated on January 18, 1888,
the church being used for that ceremony for the first
time, having been blessed by Bishop Clifford the day
before.
Mgr. Giles, formerly, as we have seen, a student at the
Pio, and for many years Vice-Rector of the English College,
succeeded. Bishop O'Callaghan, and held his office until
his death on July 28, 1913. He was succeeded by Bishop
McIntyre, a distinguished student of the College, and at
the time occupying the post of auxiliary to the Archbishop
of Birmingham. In 1917, the Archbishop found that he
CONCLUSION
26 7
was unable to do without the services of Bishop 1IcIntyre
any longer, and petitioned for his return. To this the
Holy See consented, bestowing upon the retiring Rector
the title of Archbishop. His successor was nominated in
the person of Mgr. Hinsley, the present Rector.
Note upon the Portrait of Aristotle referred to on pages 9 1 -9 2 ,
contributed by Mrs. Strong of the British School, Rome.
A RENAISSANCE PORTRAIT OF ARISTOTLE
ONCE THE PROPERTY OF THE ENGLISH COLLEGE
AMONG the treasures that vanished from the English College
in the troubles brought upon it by the French Revolution was
the replica of a once famous bronze portrait-plaque of Aristotle,
which used to hang in the Library. All traces of the plaque were
lost for nearly a century, none of the scholars, who, like Huelsen
or Bernoulli, have discussed this type of .. Aristotle," having
apparently had any knowledge of the whereabouts of this par-
ticular example. In answer, however, to a recent inquiry set
afoot by Dr. Ashby, Director of the British School, and myself,
we were informed by Mr. G. F. Hill, Keeper of the Department
of Coins and Medals at the British Museum, that the plaque was
purchased some years ago by the late Max Rosenheim, and that
it still formed part of his collection. By the courtesy of the
present owner, Mr. Maurice Rosenheim, the plaquc was deposited
for my inspection at the British Museum.
I t is 32 em. high and 9 em. broad, rounded at the top and
picrccd with holes both for suspension and attachment. The
philosopher is represented in profile, facing right, with long hair
and beard, wearing the doctor's cap with tassel and the doctor's
gown and hood. Below runs the inscription in three lines-
· Apt(],T07'f.À7JS Õ /1.pt(],TOS TWV cþtÀo(],ócþwv.
Style, workmanship, as well as design and composition,
point to the latter half of the fifteenth century as the date
of its production, and there is obviously no question here
of a genuine portrait of the philosopher. Four other replicas
exist, which are respectively in Naples, Modena, Venice and
Brunswick. All five examples are obviously taken from the
268
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
same mould, and the slight variants which they exhibit in the
rendering of the hair or the facial details seem due to re-touch-
ing with the chisel. The same portrait was likewise repro-
duced in medal form (examples at the British Museum and in the
Bibliothèque National
of Paris) and as a gem. l In the process
of multiplication the character of the face was considerably
altered, but its descent from the portrait of the plaques is always
dear. The C< Aristotle" was engraved by Enea Vico in 1546
(Bartsch, xv. 338, n. 253),2 and it figures as an authentic portrait
of the philosopher in the earlier edition of the Imagines et Elogia
of Fulvio Orsini, published in 1570, though Faber, who re-edited
the Imagines in 1606, doubted its authenticity, and substituted
in its place two no less apocryphal Aristotles.
The plaque, which so long passed as a genuine portrait of il
maestro di color ehe sanno, though its non-antique character is
self-evident to modern eyes, may possibly be discovered in time
to possess iconographic interest of another kind. That it is a
portrait, and not a generalised conception, seems dear alike from
the individuality of the features and the precision of all the
details of both head and costume. There is much, therefore, to
commend the suggestion thrown out by M. Léon Kochnitzky to
the effect that we have here, under the guise of Aristotle, an
authentic likeness of some illustrious Greek scholar of the Renais-
sance-possibly of one who had championed the cause of Aristotle
against that of Plato in the famous Council of Florence (1439)
and afterwards. Descriptions exist of these Greeks, whose long
beards and shaggy hair roused the mirth, it appears, of the younger
scholars of Florence, who, however, soon learned to recognise
1 It is also probable that the plaque served as a model in a series of
fakes or forgeries, all more or less directly attributable to the notorious
P. Ligorio. For instance, the marble relief, described as tabella ma1'morea
caput exhibens comatum et barbatum filotectum, which Ligorio apparently
palmed off as a genuine antique, found in S. Italy upon Cardinal du Bellay
(Huelsen in Roem, Mitteilungen, xvi. 1901, p. 177, 26), evidently repro-
duced the Aristotle of the bronze plaque. Again, Ligorio seems to have
used up the same type for a head in the round which was then adjusted to
a headless henn, provided with the same inscription as the plaque, though
with the addition of
'Ta"yHp['T7]S (Huelsen, loco cit. 27, see also Bernoulli,
Griechische IconograPhie, II., p. 88 and note, and Kaibel, Inscriptiones
GrtBctB (C. I; Ct. xiv.), 159). Bernoulli sunnises, further, that the same
type was reproduced in bust of Aristotles of the Collection Mazarin, that
its influence still made itself felt in the bearded head at Wilton House
(Michaeli, A ncient Marbles, p. 674, n. 7) on modern terminal bust, but
inscribed Aristotles.
J Dr. Ashby infonns me that there is a copy (reversed) of 1553, and a
still later copy, with Lafrèry's address (No. 185 of the copy described
in Bernard Quaritch's Rough List, No. 135, p. II95, quo no. 153 0 ).
CONCLUSION
26 9
them as " fully worthy of their ancestors . and still true to
the traditions of the Lyceum and the old Academy." 1 We may
form some notion of their appearance from the sitting of the
council depicted by Filarete on the great bronze gates of St.
Peter's. In later days people who had seen the Graeci, many of
whom had established themselves in Italy, and were joined by
others, were pointed at with envy by younger contemporaries.
The Greek invasion of Italy had begun long before the Fall of
Constantinople. What more natural than that an Aristotelian
of the calibre, say, of Theodorus Gaza or Georgius Trapozuntius,
should, out of compliment to his labours, be represented as the
great philosopher himself? Or, should this appear too bold a
conjecture, it may at least be surmised that an artist of the later
Quattrocento took one of these learned Greeks as his model for
the portrait of the illustrious philosopher whose writings had so
profoundly influenced the scholasticism and the thought of
the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, though at the time the
increased appreciation of Plato seemed to threaten his long
supremacy. The assertive tone of the inscription which proclaims
Aristotle as the best (ó ð.PUT'TOÇ) of the philosophers would suit a
period when his absolute authority was being challenged.
But in the present connection the interest of the plaque lies
chiefly in the long account of its history given on an old label
that still remains attached to it. A transcription of this. kindly
made by Mr. G. F. Hill. is given below. As the original is in a
very bad condition, it is useful to check what can be made out
of it by the copy, made when the label was presumably in better
condition, which was discovered some years ago by Dr. Ashby
on the back of a drawing of If Santa Croce in Gerusalemme." by
John Alexander,2 who, during his stay in Rome in 1715, was
doubtless entertained at the English College. This copy I shall
refer to as A.
H ANC Aristotelis Iconem HENcUS VIII Angliæ REX dum
religionem litterasque coleret sunmo tamquam ab ipso
Philosopho: jam turn spirante, ductam, habuit in pretio: lit-
tcrarum pietatisque studio in ANGLIA collabente, earn CARD.
POLUS unicum temporis sui lumen, feritatem Regis declinans.
1 Sir John Sandys, History of Classical Scholarship, II. p, 60 with reEf.
2 See Fort's Lrawings of Roman Scenes bV British Artists (1715-1850).
from originals in the British Museum. London, MCMXI.
27 0
THE ENGLISH COLLEGE IN ROME
Romå detulit, quæ post aliquod annorum intervallum, felid
casu, ad CARD. ALANUM in gens etiam gentis Anglicanæ orna-
mentum pervenit, a quo cum fato concederet, ROGERUS
BAINESIUS qui [illi] turn ab epistolis erat, dono earn accepit,
ac vivis exiens Collegii Anglicani de URBE, bibliothecæ egregium
[am]oris f ui MV'l}p.óuvvov reliquit.
[A.D.) VI IDUS OCTOB: ANa. MDCXXIII
In 1. 10 illi is restored from A. and seems necessary to make
it clear that Baynes was Allen's secretary. In 1. 14 [am] oris,
already suggested by Mr. J. A. Hubert for an earlier reading,
[temp]oris, is confirmed by A. The rest of the line in A. reads:
amoris sui reliquit vii o Id. Octob. Anno lIfDCXXIII MYfJp.óuvv1].
The following translation, appended by Dr. Ashby to his
publication of the inscription, may prove of interest-
II This image of Aristotle, taken as though from that great
Philosopher in his lifetime, was valued by Henry VIII, King of
England, while he still loved religion and letters: but when the
study of letters and piety decayed in England, Cardinal Pole,
the only light of his time, a voiding the cruelty of the King,
brought it to Rome. After some years, by a fortunate chance it
came to Cardinal Allen, himself a great ornament of the English
race, from whom, at his death, Roger Baynes, who was then his
secretary, received it as a gift. At his death he left it to the
library of the English College in Rome, as a special remembrance
of his affection. October 9, 1623." 1
It is proposed to deal more fully with the history of the plaque
in the forthcoming issue of the Papers of the British School at
Rome. Meanwhile this note may suffice to show how great an
interest attaches to an object which links up in a direct and
vivid manner the names of four personages so directly connected
with the fortunes of the English College as Henry VIII and his
kinsman, Reginald Pole; as Cardinal William Allen and his
secretary Roger Baynes.
As to how the plaque originally came into the possession of
Henry VIII, it may reasonably be surmised that it was procured
for him in Italy by Pole between 1519 and 1527, in those years
when the future Cardinal stood high in his Royal cousin's favour,
1 The same label is evidently the source for the notice that accompanies
D' Agincourt's sketch of the plaque, Cod. Vat. 9846, f. 98 (cited by Huelsen,
op. cit. p. 178,28).
CONCLUSION
'1.7 1
and when. after studying at Padua at Henry's wish and expense.
he visited the rest of Italy. and came into close touch with its
varied literary and artistic interests. Henry himself was a noted
collector and art-lover. as the lists of works of art in his possession.
preserved at the Record Office. testify. Though several plaques
and plaquettes are enumerated in these lists. our II Aristotle."
unfortunately. does not figure among them. But it is to the
present purpose to recall that the Tudors apparently held
Aristotle in high honour. If we may trust a conjecture of the
late J. H. Middleton, it is Aristotle who-bearded, and with .. a
sword knife and gypspere hanging to his girdle." as befits the
U fighting philosopher" -stands in the first niche to the left of
the entrance in Henry VII's Chapel in Westminster Abbey.l
1 See J. T. Micklethwaite, .. Notes on the Imagery of Henry the
Seventh's Chapel," in Archeologja, 47, II., p. 3 68 .
INDEX
ABBOT, George (Abp. of Canter-
bury), 160
Abingdon, Abbot of, 39
Abyssinian quarter in Rome, 15
Acton, Cardinal, 247
Agazzari, Fr. Alphonsus: rectorship
of the English College, 75, 88, 89,
90-1, 92, 102, 107, III; men-
tioned, 76,79,84,97,126,127,150
Albani, Cardinal Protector of Scot-
land, 180
Alberry, Richard, 218
Aldobrandini, Prince, 205
Aldred, Solomon, 88
Alexander III, Pope, 4, 5, 21
Alexander VI, Pope, 48
Alexander VII, Pope, 115, 175
Alexander, John, 92 n., 269
Alfred,King, sends couriers to Rome,
7; visits Rome, 12; honoured by
Pope Marinus, 12; procures en-
franchisement of the English
Schola, 12-13; receives gift of
a portion of the true Cross from
Pope Marinus, 12, 13 n. t ; con-
nection with the institution of
Peter's Pence, 14 and n. t
Allen, Dr. John, Chaplain of the
Hospice, 49
Allen, Cardinal William: account
of, 64 ; connection with the
founding of the English College,
62, 63, 66, 93; advocates Jesuit
help in the College, 67, I I 3 ;
view of Dr. Clenock as Rector,
67, 68, 76; pressed to come to
Rome to assist in settling dis-
pute at the College, 76; his
pleasure that the College is
placed under Jesuit administra-
tion, 76; arrival in Rome, 79,
80; audience with the Holy
Father, 79, 80; anxiety regarding
the disturbances, 80-1; attitude
to reception of students into the
Society of Jesus, 82 ; secures from
the Society helpers for the Eng-
lish Mission, 82-3, 113; return
to Rheims, 83; begs the Pope
not to give so plentifully to the
T 273
missionary priests, 84; summoned
to Rome on account of the dis-
sensions in the College, 89 ;
participates in the revision of
Sacred Scriptures, 89; a coun-
sellor of the Hol y See, 89 ;
counsels an English Rector for
the College, 89, 91; influence
of, for peace in College affairs,
94-5; friendship with Dr. Lewis,
76, 93; death of, 91 and n. 3 , 92,
95 n.; bequeaths books to the
College Library, 86
Otherwise mentioned, 7 1 , 75,
91 n. 3 , 92 n., 96, 126, 132,
161, 270
Almond, John, 140-1
Almond, Oliver, 154
Alms, collected in England for
support of the Hospice, 40-1
Alwaye (or Alwayt), Henry, 59
Ampart, Edward, 59
Anderson, William, 164
Anglo-Saxons, the: conversion of,
1-2 ; interest of Anglo-Saxon
rulers in the .. Rome journey,"
7; coins of, found in Rome, I I
Annual Letters 01 the English College
cited and quoted, 65, 75, 79, 86,
88, 118, 121, 123, 124, 127, 130,
160, 181, 182, 186, 191
Antipopes, the, 4, 19; as a danger
of the Rome journey, 4-5
Antonelli, Cardinal, Prefect of Pro-
paganda, 179, 180
Apollyns, Adam (Bp. of Chichester),
4 6
A postolicum M inisterium, Bull, 175
Aquaviva, Fr., General of the
Society of Jesus, 82, 98, 110
Arden, Robert, 165-6
Aristotle, portrait-plaque of, 91 n. 3 ;
Mrs. Strong's note on, 267 et seq.
Armenian quarter in Rome, 15
Array, Martin, 64, 65, 7 1 , 149
Arts, the, in Rome throughout the
Middle Ages, 3
Arundel, Countess of, 153
Arundel, Henry Frederick, 3rd
Earl of, 168
274
Arundel J Henry Howard J 4th Earl
of, 199-200
Arundel J Sir John, 133J 134
Arundel MSS. J 200
Arundell J Blanche LadYJ 162
Arundell, Sir Thomas J 195-6J 197
Arundell, Lord, 221, 228
AshbYJ Dr. (Director of the British
School in Rome), q'ttoted J 92 'IZ.;
cited J 267J 268 n.2J 269J 270
Ashley J Sir Anthony J 159
Ashley, Br. Ralph, 138J 139
Askew J John J 64,65
AsserJ biographer of Alfred the
Great J quoted J 13 n. t
Atherton, Christopher J 130
Atkinson (apostate)J 155J 159
AudreYJ Richard J 165
BAGGS J Bp., of Pella, 235J 247
BaileYJ Christopher, 130, 132
Bainbridge J Christopher J Abp. of
York J 49-50
Baines J Bp., Vicar-Apostolic Wes-
tern District, 221, 222J 228 J 237,
247,255
Baines (alias Edmund Mico), 145-6
Baines, Roger J 91 n. 3 J 92 n., 270
Baker J Charles J 146, 189
Baker J Magdalen Maria J 32
Baker J Martha, 202 n.
Baker J Peter Paul J 32
Balas, Christopher J 130J 132
Baldwin J William J 154
Bamber, Edward J 145
Banister, George, 103
Banks J Richard, 155-6
Barber, JohnJ 28; Simon, 28
Barberini, Cardinal J Protector of
England J n6 J 169J 175, 191 n.t,
200 J 201
Barker J Thomas J 166
Barnard J John, 59; Richard J 59
Baronius, 95
Barret, Dr'J Rector of Douay (and
Rheims): on Fr. Fioravanti
quoted, 91; on the differences
among students at the English
College J 97 et seq.; supports re-
commendation that Jesuits be
retained in government of the
English College J 97-8, 99, 102,
I 13; willingness to receive some
of the students at DouaYJ 99J
102; quoted, 127; cited J 136J 150
Bartlett, Richard J 165
BarwysJ JohnJ 133
Basset, Charles, 122
Ba.thurst J Bp. of, 263
Bawden, William, 154
Baynes J Roger J 91 n. 3 J 9 2 n'J 270
INDEX
Becket J St. Thomas J 20-1, 85; the
Tragedy of St. Thomas 01 Canter-
bury, 190-1
Beda J Collegio J 249
Bede J Venerable J quoted on English
pilgrimage to Rome J 3J 6 J 7
Bedford J \Villiam J 164
Bedingfield familYJ the J 196
BelaneYJ student J 250
Bell J Fr. Francis J 145
Bell J Dr. John (Bp. of Worcester)J 50
Bell J Thomas, 64, 65-6
Bellarmine J Cardinal J 165J 189
Bellew J Sir Patrick J 221
Belmonte, Mgr' J 172J 175
Benedict J Abp. of Milan J 7
Benedict XIV, Pope J 175
Benevento J Abp. ofJ 35
Bennet J Edward, 108-lo J I I I
Bennet J Fr. John (the Apostle of
Wales)J 143
Bennett J Robert J 13 0 J 157
Bennett J Thomas, 181
Benson, Christopher J 162-3
Bernard, St., of Menthon, Hospice
of J in the St. Bernard Pass J 17
Bernard, Dr., 74-
Bernouilli cited J 267J 268 n. t
Bianchini, Signor J 255
BickleYJ Ralph J 151
BiscoPJ Benedict J 6
BishoPJ JohnJ 150
BishoPJ \Villiam (Bp. of Chalcedon),
10 5, 114J 15 0
Blackwell, Archpriest J 104J 158
Blake, Alexander, 131
Blundell. Thomas Weld J 260
BodleYJ student J 250
Bologna UniversitYJ students ofJ
visit Rome in sixteenth centurYJ
44
Bolton, John, 151
Boncompagni, Cardinal J 87J 88 J 185
Boniface VIII, Pope, revives prac-
tice of celebrating the year of
J ubilee J 26
Boniface, Abp. of Canterbury, 23
and n. l
Borghese, Cardinal J 102 J 105
Borgia, Mgr., 179
Borowbridge, John, 36-7J 53
Borromeo J St. Charles, 54, 59, 84J
93, 118 J 12 3
Bosgrave, Yen. Thomas J 134-5
Bost, John, 136
Bottle, Robert, Prior of the Hos-
pital of St. John, London J 38
Bourbon J Constable J 51
Bourg, St. Pierre, 16
BradYJ Ma, ziere Eþiscopal Succes-
sion cited J 60
Braganza, Catherine of, 169
Brampton, Thomas (Bp. of Roches-
ter), 29 and n. 2 , 30
Bramston, Dr., Vicar-Apostolic,
London District, 218, 219
Braschi, Cardinal, 206, 207
Braybroke, Bp. Robert, 29
Briant, Fr. Alexander, 65, 123
Brickley, Patrick, 218
Brinckley, Stephen, 198
Bristow, Dr., 66, 68, 76, 81
Brooke, Henry, 165
Brookesby, \Villiam, 120, 186
Brown, Fr., English Provincial,
S.J., 174
Brown, Rev. G., 209
Bruce, Thomas, 83
Brunton, Dom Thomas (Bp. of
Rochester), 29 n. 2 , 30
Buckingham, Countess of, 157
Burgus, the (the Saxon burg in
Rome), 15
Burhed, King of Mercia, 14, 25
Burton, Dr., Life of Bishop Chal-
loner, cited and quoted, 174 seq.
passim
Buxton, Christopher, 130
CÆDW ALLA, King of the \Vest
Saxons, 7
Cajetan, Cardinal Protector, 102,
103, 104, 10 5
Calixtus II, Pope, 19
Calveley, Sir Hugh, 29
Calverley, Edmund, 13 0 , 154
Campanelli, Cardinal, 180
Campion, Fr. Edmund, S.J.: de-
parts for the English Mission,
83; received by St. Charles
Borromeo, 84; martyrdom of,
65, 123; mentioned, 69, 82, 124,
125, 15 0
Campsey, Prioress of, 41
Cansfield, Ven. Briant, 144, 162-3
Canterbury, Prior of, 38
Canute, King, 4, 13
Capgrave, John (Austin Friar),
quoted, 22, 33 n. fi
Cappella Cardinalizia, the, 19o
Cappella for the Feast of St.
Thomas of Canterbury, the, 190
Cappellari, Cardinal, 232
Caprano, Mgr., 222
Caprara, Cardinal, 116
Captiva Religio, 191
Caraffa, Mgr., 34
Carey, Hon. 1\1:r., 196
Carey, Ven. John, 134
Carnaby, Launcelot, 158-9
Carne, Mr., 201
Carne, Sir Edward, 58, 59
T2
INDEX
275
Carpenter (apostate), 167
Carter, .William, 198
Cassani, Cardinal, 203
Castra, Bp. of, visitation of the
College by, 88
Catenby, Mrs., 142
Catherick, Mr., 142
Catholic Emancipation re]Olcmgs
at the English College, 231
Cavalchini, Cardinal, 177
Cavallini, Pietro, 3
Cedder, \Villiam, 150
Chaddock, \Villiam, 154
Chaderdon, Henry, 162
Challoner, Bp., 129, 130, 139, 140,
15 0 , 158, 160, 176, 177, 17 8 ,
253
Chandeler, William (of York), 28,
29, 3 0
Chaplain, William, 126-7
Charlemagne, 4, 10, I I
Charles I (of England), 14 2 , 143
Charles II (of England), 169
Charles VIII (King of France):
fresco in Sacristy of S. Spirito,
25
Charlotte, Queen of Cyprus: fresco
of, in Sacristy of S. Spirito, 25
Charnock, Robert, 105
Chartres, Bp. of, 22 n. 2
Chillingworth, 157
Christal, Agnes, 29
Christal, Robert, 29
Clapton, Cuthbert, 167
Claxton, Henry, 144
Clement VI, Pope, 26
Clement VII, Pope, 52, 53
Clement VIII, Pope, 91, III
Clement X, Pope, 169
Clement XI, Pope, 171, 190
Clement XII, Pope, 172
Clement XIII, Pope, 177 n. 2
Clenock, Dr. Maurice: account of,
59, 68 n. t ; connection with the
Hospice, 59, 61, 63, 64. 66-7, 68;
first Rector of the College, 59,
63. 66-7; incompetence as ruler
of the College, 69; view of the
English students regarding, 70-1 ;
position in the national rivalries
at the College, 70 seq.; proposal
of the Jesuit teachers regarding,
71; efforts to secure Wardenship
of the Hospital for, 74, 76; pen-
sioned by the Pope, 74; subse-
quent career, 74
Dr. Allen's view of, as Rector,
68, 76; Fr. Parsons quoted
on the government of the
College under, 75-6
Otherwise mentioned, 75, 87
276
Clerk, John (Bishop of Bath and
Wells), 37, 51; his Account Book of
the EngJish Hospice, 37 et seq.;
55
Clerk, Thomas, 4 0
Clerkenwell, Jesuit house at, 155-6,
163, 166
Clifford, Bishop, 266
Clifford, Lord, 243
Clifton, Bishop of, quoted, 57,202 n.,
20 4-5
Clithero, Henry, 158; Margaret, IS8
Cloford, Thomas, 188
Coffin, Edward, 156
Coinred, King of the Mercians, 7-8
Coins, Anglo-Saxon: deposits of,
found in Rome, I I
Coke, Lord Chief Justice, 188
Coke, Thomas, 188-9
Cole, Edward, 156
Coleridge, student, 25 0
Colet, Henry, 24
Co let, John (i), 24; John (ii), 24
Colet, Richard, 24
Confessors of the Faith: College
alumni. 147 seq.
Confraternity of the Holy Ghost, 21
Congregation of Rites: decree of,
respecting the Martyrs of the
College alumni, 122, 126 n. t
Connolly, Fr. John, O.P., quoted,
20 4 n. 2
Consalvi, Cardinal Secretary of
State: superintends framing of
Constitutions for the re-established
College, 175, 209; interest in the
College, 209, 218; mentioned, 206,
207,208, 214, 228, 253
Consfield family, 196
Convertendi, House of the, 249
Cope, Alan, 61 and n., 86
Coptic quarter in Rome, 15
Cornelius, Fr. John, 133-5, 154, 18 5- 6
Cornforth, Thomas, 159
Cornthwaite, Dr. Robert, 249, 2S0,
25 1 , 254
Corsini, Cardinal, Protector of the
English College, 177, 17 8 , 179
Cottam, Thomas, 125-6
Courtney, Fr., S.J., 19 1
Crane, Thomas, 59
Cranmer, Abp., 46
Crashaw, Richard, 196-7
Creed, John, 7 2
Creswell, Fr. Joseph, S,J., 89, 126
Crétineau- Joly cited, 177 n. 2
Crockett, Fr. Ralph, 129
Crompe, Matthew, 42
Cronin, Mgr., cited, 56
Crosby, Richard, 218
Cusani, Cardinal, 94
INDEX
D' AGINCOURT'S sketch of the por-
trait-plaque of Aristotle, 270 n. 1
Dakson, John, 218
Daniel, Edmund (Dean of Here-
ford), 59, 60, 61
Danish invasions of England a
cause of pilgrimage to Rome, 14
Davies, Messrs., 235
Davis, \Villiam, 199
Dawson, John, 45
de Garona, John, 43
de Giglis, John. See Giglis.
de Laures, Matthew, 40
De Persecutione Anglicana, 187 n.
de Pinea, Robert, 28, 29
Derby, Earl of, 141
Dereham, Sir Thomas, 205, 211,
249
de Retz, Cardinal, 169
De Via, Cardinal, 172
Diario di Roma quoted, 223 n.
Digby family, the, 196
Disputations aild Sermons: account
of the participants given in the
Archives of the College, 181 et seq.
Dodd, Church History, cited, ISO,
160; quoted, 156, 158, 160
Dominican House at Bornhem
founded by Cardinal Howard, 168
Dominicans, lawsuit with the Eng-
lish College on Cardinal Howard's
death, 170
Doria, Cardinal, 213
Donner, Lord, 221
Douay, Seminary at: founding of,
64; students from, proceed to the
Venerabile, 64, 66; professors of,
deplore intention of Jesuits to
withdraw from the Venerabile,
99; receives students transferred
from the V cnerabile, 99, IO 3 ;
refuses to send students to the
Venerabile, I 15; flourishes during
decadence of the Vellerabile, lIS;
Basset's bequest to, 122; affected
by Jansenist troubles, 171, 172
Diary of, quoted and cited, 64,
120, 124, 132, 139, 154, 15 6 ,
188
Doughty, Mr., 221
Draper, Dr. Thomas, 45
Drury, William, 164
Du Bellay, Cardinal, 268 n. 1
Dublin Review established, 239
Dudley, Richard, 154-S
Duke, Edmund, 131
Dupont, General, 203
ECCLES, Mr., 218
Eddi, biographer of St. Wilfrid of
I1exham, cited, 2
Elements, the, as a danger of the
Rome journey, 5
Elfsy, Abp. of Canterbury, 1 I
Elizabeth, Queen, 60, 88, 197; the
question of succession to, 96, 97,
112
Elizabethan Settlement of Re-
ligion, the, 58, 6<J., 112
Ely, Dr., 80
Ely, John, 32
England: condition of, after the
Norman Conquest, 20; risks to
the missioner in, greater than
risks in India, 82; dissensions
amongst Catholics in, after the
Elizabethan Settlement, 112 ;
Catholicity of, contrast with
Ireland, 114; celebrants of Mass
in, punished by penalties attached
to high treason, 132; establish-
ment of episcopal government
in, 170-1; position of Catholics
in, in the early years of the
eighteenth century, 173; increase
in number of the Vicars-Apostolic,
244; restoration of the Catholic
Hierarchy in, 247-8
Englefield, Sir Thomas, 61
English, Dr. Lewis, Rectorship of
the English College, 251 seq.
English, Miss, 260
English II Borough U or II Bargo" in
Rome. See under heading Schola
Anglorum.
English clergy: desire for appoint-
ment of Bishops, 104, 170; atti-
tude of, to the decree of Clement
VIII respecting the Divinity
degree, 111-12; distrust in Jesuit
control of the English College,
114; attitude on appointment of
Howard as Vicar-Apostolic, 169
English coins, early I found on the
St. Bernard Pass, 17 1J. l
\ English College in Rome, the J
foundation, 59, 62 seq., 186, 190,
194; confirmed by bull of Gregory
XIII, 68, 69, ()9 n. l , 77- 8 , 79,
84; constitution, 77-8, 176, 209;
obligation to receive and main-
tain pilgrims, 34, 7 8 , 194; number
of students determined, 79;
Gregory XIII a munificent bene-
factor of, 63, 79, 84, 85- 6 , 87,
122; studies superintended by
Jesuit fathers, 66, ()7, 69; rector-
ship of Dr. Clenock, 66 seq.;
internal difficulties in administra-
tion, 69; disorders in, due to
national rivalry, 70 seq., 80; dis-
content with administration of
INDEX
277
Dr. Clenock, 70 seq.; students
petition for Jesuit government,
70; English students leave the
College, 71 seq. ; administration
taken over by the Jesuits, 75-6;
signs of new difficulties, 80-1 ; in-
sinuations against the Jesuits, 81,
95; efforts to unite the students
and thcir Jesuit superiors,
81-3; growth in numbers and
reputation, 83; the first English
MIssion from, 83-5; further dis-
putes, 87 seq.; students' repu-
tation for turbulence, 87; emis-
saries of Queen Elizabeth the
reputed cause of disturbance,
8S; Visitation by Bishops of
Piacenza and Castra, 88 seq.;
complaints against Jesuit govern-
ment, 89, 95; an English Rector
appointed, 89; expulsion of some
students, 90; annual subsidy
withdrawn by Sixtus V, 90; re-
duction of students and staff,
9 0 ; Jesuit general desires to
withdraw, 90; continuance of
" stirs," 90, 91; return to system
of ItaJian rectors, 90-2
Cardinal Sega's Visitation, 92
seq.; accusations against Dr.
Owen Lewis, 93-4, 95; state-
ment of students' grievances,
94, 102; summary of demands
of students, 95; remarks and
recommendations, 95, 97, 99,
102; report on administration
and income of the College, 100-
2; on intercourse with English
residents in Rome, 102; sug-
gestions of report adopted, 102
Political basis of disturbances, 95-
6, 97, 112-13; Jesuit responsi-
bility considered, 9 6 , 97, 113,
114; outbreak precipitated by
Fr. Parsons' book, 96, 97; Jesuit
government maintained, 97-9,
102-3, 110; appointment of an
English rector, 102, 103, 1 I I ;
work of Fr. Parsons in settling
difficulties, 107 seq.; difficulties a
reflection of divisions in England,
112-14; incident of students found
drinking in a tavern, 103-4; ap-
pointment of Archpriest Black-
well accentuates secular distrust
in College politics, 104-6; deca-
dence due to secular distrust, 113
seq.; efforts to re-arouse interest
in, 115; students prohibited from
27 8
entering Religious Orders, 115;
comparison with other English
colleges, I 16; purchase of Monte
Porzio, 116; account of the
institution in 1667 . . ., 116- 1 7;
effect of the fire of 1653. . .,
117; a centre of English Society
in Rome, 191 n., 201; protector-
ship of Cardinal Howard, 168,
1f>9, 170; the College rebuilt, 169,
17 0 ; lawsuit with Dominicans,
170; reputation re-established,
170; inti uence of political troubles
on, 170, 171-2; Jansenist troubles,
170, 171; change in government
urged by English Vicars-Apos-
tolic, 171, 172, 175, 179; Vicars
Apostolic complain of results, 175 ;
Visitation of Cardinal Barberini,
171; office of Protector vacant,
17 1 ; effect of establishment of
episcopal government in England,
17 1 ; Visitation of Cardinals De
Via and Rovere, 17 2 , 174-5;
study of sacred Scripture and
modern controversy enjoined,
175; confidence of English Bish-
ops in, destroyed, 175; effect
of the Apostolicum Aiinisterium,
175- 6 ; difficulty of 0 btaining
students, 176,253; alumni limited
to students in plúlosophy and
theology, 176; low financial state,
17 6 ; changes involved by suppres-
sion of the Jesuits, 177, 2 0 5 n.;
management by Italian seculars,
177, 178; efforts to 0 btain English
superiors, 178; pontifical decree
allowing government by English
seculars, 179; French Revolution :
fate of the college, 203 seq.
Re-establishment, 205 seq., 2 1 3,
seq.; Rectorship of Dr. Gradwell,
208; memorial tablet commemo-
rating new foundation, 208; a
return to original constitution,
2 0 9; Nicholas Wïseman's first
impression of, 210-1 I; the So-
dality chapel, 211; students' dis-
content at restrictions in, 2 1 3-
14; students' successes, 21 4- 1 5,
21 9, 220; account of students
in first years of reopening, 218,
21 9; Leo XII visits Monte Porzio,
219-21; Rectorslúp of Dr. Wise-
man, 222, 223 seq., 244 seq.,
254-5; visit of Lord Macaulay
to, 243; union with the College
of the Pio, 251; Rectorship of
Dr. English, 251 seq.; Rectors of,
also agents of the English Bishops,
INDEX
251, 252, 253-4; Rectorship of
Dr. Neve, 256 seq.; reorganisation
proposed by Abp. of 'Westminster
and Mgr. Talbot, 256 seq.; re-
building of the church of, 258
seq.; foundation stone of church
laid, 262; account of the visit of
Pius IX to, 262-4
Archives, the, vii, viii, 37, 40,
116, 177, 201, 204, 222;
Registers in, 115-16, 194
Church (of St. Thomas of
Canterbury): the old altar-
piece in, 34, 210, 259;
pictures of the martyrs in,
122, 211 ; improved and
refurnished by Cardinal
Howard, 170, 190; condition
of, in 1818 . . ., 205, 210-
II; rebuilding of, 24 8 , 258
seq.; foundation stone laid,
262 ; opening, 266; not
consecrated, 266; Dereham
monument, 205, 21 I
Confessors of the Fm:th: ac-
count of, 116, 147-67
Diary, viii; cited and quoted,
148, 159, 161, 174, 19 2 ,226
Finances, 86, 90, 100-1, 116,
117, 17 2 , 17 6 , 208, 2 0 9, 255
Library: bequests of books to,
86; plaque of Aristotle in,
27 0
Martvrs : account of, II 6,
lIS seq.; protomartyr, 65.
12 3
Personnel, 90, 101-2, 116- 1 7,
17 2 , 179
Pilgrim Book. See that head-
ing.
Pilgrims: provIsIon for, 197,
201; letters of introduction
required, 198; abundant
charity dispensed, 199, 201;
reception of converts, 199,
201
Sodauty, of the Blessed Virgin
85
Students: accounts of number
and distribution, 9 0 , 93, 99-
100, 101, 116, 17 2 -3, 174,
179; missIonary fervour of,
119, 123, 133, 147, 191
2;
the first to join the EnglIsh
Mission, 65, 124; ef
ect of
climate on, 85,192; arnvalof,
from England in 1818. . ., 20 9
Vineyards, for recreation and
exercise, 85, 192-3
English Hospice the: foundat
on
of, I, 26-9, '3 0 ; II foundatIon
charter" of, 27-8; date .of
foundation, 27, 29, 30, 31; sIte
of, 28 and n. l ; premises extended,
30, 3 1 ; connection with Tras-
tevere Hospice, 31 ser;.;
m-
nection with the EnglIsh Kmg,
37 n..; the recognised centre
of English interests in Rome,
39-40, 47, 60, 194; steady
growth of, 46; character
f a?-
ministration of, 46; rebuilt m
1412 . . ',.46;. inter
ention of
English Kmg m affaIrs o
, 47
seq.; papal interest m, c
mtmued
after King's interventIOn, 4 8 ;
during sack of Rome, 51, 53;
status of, changed by defection
of the English King, 53; be-
comes a refuge for exiles, 53,
9,
62; appointment of GuardIan
passes to the Holy See, 53; papal
ordinance to preven
loss. of
Institution to the EnglIsh natIon,
53-4, 58; pilgrims from England
again received on return of
England to Catholic unity, 57-8;
again a place of refuge after
the Elizabethan Settlement, 59;
Protestants turn to, for help,
60; office of Guardian in the las
years of, 61, 66-7, 68; members
attitude to the College, 67;
property and admini
tration of,
assigned to the EnglIsh College,
68, 69, 77, 78; the lé1;st
ar
en,
69; obligation to receive pIlgnms
transferred to the College, 78,
194
Account books, viii, 37, 49, 53,
55, 56, 58, 64; interesting
discoveries in, 49
Cemetery, 46
Church, 43, 4;6; cemetery of,
46; donatIons to, 3 8 , 39,
46; losses suffered in sack
of Rome, 53
INDEX
279
Inventories, 37, 3 8 ,
9, 53, 59,
61 ; archæological interest
of, 37, 61
Library, 39, 40, 61
Management, 35-7, 4 2 , 4 6
Pilgrims, provision for, 37, 43,
61, 194; records of, 44, 58,
195; student or scholar
visitors from England, 45;
an English "organist" re-
ceived, 58
Refectory: plate in, 39; pewter
platters in, 40
Revenues, 4 0 , 4 1 - 2 , 43, 4 6 , 53;
contributions from England,
40-2, 46; official collector,
4 0
English Mission, position and needs
of: Bp. Petre's statement, !74;
effect of the Bull Aþostolzcum
Ministerium, 175; need of help
for, recognised by English Govern-
ment, 179
Ent, Sir George, 200
Errington, Dr. George, 218, 219,
221, 231, 233, 247, 254, 255
Errington, John, 218
Errington, Robert, 159
Ethelburga, Queen, 8 n. t
Ethelwulf, King, 12, 14 and
.3, 25
Eugenius IV, Pope: reconstItutes
the Hospital of the Holy Ghost,
23, 24, 25, 46; issues Bull for
consecration of the Church and
cemetery of the Hospice, 3 8 , 4 6 ;
the fresco in the Sacristy of S.
Spirito, 25
Eveleighe, Richard, 156
Evelyn's Diary, 191 and n. t , 199,200
Ewart, Thomas, 2 I 8
FALKLAND, Lord, 196
Falkner, John, 162
Fanner, Thomas, 166
Farnese, Cardinal, 31, 188; the
Farnese Palace, 3 1 , 35
Farrington, john, 144-5
Fealty, Dr., 157 .
Felici, Rector, of the EnglIsh Col-
lege, 179
Felton, john, 163
Fenner, justice, 156
Feria, Duchess, 61 n.
Feria, Countess of, 59 n.!
Ferretti, Cardinal, 251
Fetwell, Robert, 41
Finch, Mr., 145
280
Fioravanti, Fr., 91
Fisher, Blessed John, 51, 60, 122;
the play Rofjensis, 191
Fitzherbert, Sir Thomas, 155
Fitzhugh, Robert (Bp. of London),
3 8
Flaminio, Marcantonio, 57
Fleetwood, John, 218
Flint, Thomas, 160
Hinton, George, 198
Florence, artistic inspiration from
Rome, 3
Floyd, John, 158
Foley, Br., volume of Jesuit records,
cited and quoted, vüi, 41 n. l , 43 n. 2 ,
44, 12 9, 159, 16 7, 195, et passim.
Foliot, Gilbert, 21
Foreigners, Scholæ of, in Rome, I I.
15
Fornari, Cardinal, 228. 229
Forster, Dr. Hugh, 41
Fortescue family. the. 196
Forty Hours' Exposition. the, ac-
count of institution of, 186
Foster, Dom Hugh (of Glaston-
bury). 33
Foster. Thomas. 165
Foster. William, 164
Fowler. Walter. 143
Foxe's Book of Martyrs. 244
Francis, John (Franciscan chaplain
of the English Hospice). 39. 40,
4 8
Franks. the. 2; the Schola Fran-
corum. 15, 19, 26
Fransoni, Cardinal, Prefect of Pro-
paganda, 244, 248
Frederic I, Emperor (Barbarossa).
4, 20
Frisians, Schola of the, IS
Frodoard the Chronicler. quoted, 4
Froude, Hurrell, 236. 237 and n.
GAETANI. Cardinal. 91. 98
Gage family, the. 196
Galeffi. Cardinal. 207
Gardiner. Bp. (of Winchester), 60
Gardiner, Francis, 166-7
Garlick, Nicholas, 130
Garnett, Fr. Henry. S.J.. 137. 138,
139 .
Garth. (or Leigh. Richard), 129
Gascoigne. Sir Thomas, 202 n.
Gaylot, John. 32
Gaza. Theodorus, 269
Gee's list of priests quoted, 164
Gell, Sir W.. 229
Gentleman's Magazine (1735) cited.
173
Gerard, Fr.. 163; Autobiography
quoted. 153
INDEX
Gerard. Mr. J. W., quoted on the
Sack of Rome. 52
Gerdil, Cardinal, 180
Gibbons, Andrew, 185
Giblet, William, 59, 60
Gibson. Bp.. 209
Gifford. Gilbert. 83. 88
Gifford, William (Abp. of Rheims).
84
Giglis. John, 39. 47. 4 8
Giglis. Dr. Silvester. 50
Gilbert, George, 121, 122
Giles. Mgr.. Vice-Rector of the
College, 250,266
Gillow. Henry, 209. 214, 218
Gillow. Richard, Vice-Rector of the
College. 218 and n.
Giraldus Cambrensis, on the dangers
of the .. Rome journey." quoted,
5 n. l ; connection of. with the
Hospital of the Holy Ghost. 23
Gladstone, Rt. Hon. W. E., 242
Golding, D. Laurence, 41
Goldsmith, John the, 28, 29
Goldwell. Bp. Thomas: account
of. 54; commissary to Cardinal
Pole. 54. 55, 56; connection with
the English Hospice, 55, 56. 59.
86. 87; leaves Rome to take
charge of his diocese of St. Asaph,
58; return and continuous resi-
dence at the Hospice, 58; retires
to house of the Theatines. 87;
death, 86, 87; his bequests to the
English College, 86. 87; his epi-
taph in the cloister. 86.
Otherwise mentioned. 60. 66,
127. 128. 129. 130. 131. 135.
139, 152
Gore, John. 71
Gonnanston, Lord. 221
Gradwell, Dr., Rector of the English
College, 205, 207-8, 253; account
of the restoration of the English
College, 205-7, 208; receives
students from England, 209, 210,
212; account of the discontent
of the new students, 213, 214; on
the success of his students, 214;
on the nature of the Concorso,
2 I 5; receives Divinity degree,
215; on Wiseman's public de-
fensions 216-18; account of stu-
dents received at the College in
the first years after reopening,
218; appointed coadjutor of Bp.
Bramston, 218, 221-2; on Erring-
ton's .. Public Act," 219; on visit
of Leo XII to Monte Porzio,
219-21; relates another example
of the Holy Father's benevolence
to the College, 221; debt of the
institution to, 222; consecration
of, and departure for England,
222,227,228
Mentioned, 34, 226, 25 1 , 254
Grandison, Bp. of Exeter: Register
of, cited, 30
Grant, Dr. Thomas, Bp. of South-
wark, 242, 243, 247-9, 25 1
Grapham, Robert, 59
Gratley, Edward, 73, 88
Graves, Sir William. See Greaves.
Gray, Robert, 155
Gray, Dr. William, Protonotary
Apostolic, 35
"Great Litany," procession of, 18
Greaves, Sir \Villiam, 200
Green, Cuthbert, 167
Green, John, 153
Green, Rev. Stephen, 207
Greenway, Anthony, 164
Gregorian University, the, 209
Gregory the Great, Pope, I
Gregory II, Pope, 8, 10
Gregory VII, Pope, 4
Gregory XI, Pope, 30
Gregory XIII, Pope: foundation
of the English College by, 62 et
seq., 77-8, 84, 176, 183, 186, 190,
194,209; the Bull of foundation,
77-8 ; assigns property of the
Hospice to use of the Seminary,
68,76-7; attitude of, to the rebel-
lious English students, 7 0 , 72-4;
a munificent benefactor of the Col-
lege and the students, 79- 80 , 84,
85, 117, 182; approves Jesuit
participation in the English Mis-
sion, 82; generosity of, to depart-
ing priests, 84-5, 86, 183; care
for the health of the students, 85,
192; grants special indulgences
to the students, 85-6, 87; makes
important concessions to the
College, 122; his death, 86
Fr. Hart's address to, 183-4
Gregory XIV, Pope, contributes to
support of the College, 86
Gregory XV, Pope, 114
Gregory XVI, Pope, 232, 233
Gressope, Mr., 59
Grey, \\Talter, Protonotary Apos-
tolic, 32, 46
Griffin, Dr. Hugh, Provost of Cam-
bray, 108 n. 3 , 110
Griffiths, Dr., 229
Grosse, John, 163
Grosvenor, Robert, 165-6
Gunpowder Plot, the, 139, 152,158,
161, 199; banishment of priest
after, 140, 158
INDEX
281
Guy of Montpellier, founder of the
Confraternity of the Holy Ghost,
21,25
HACKET, John Baptist (Dominican
friar), I 68
Hadrian IV, Pope, lays Rome under
interdict, 20
Hall, William, 218
Halsey, Dr. Thomas, 44, 50 and n.
Hamerford, Thomas, 126, 127
Hannibal, Dr. Thomas, 46, 50
Harborough, Henry, Canon of Salis-
bury, 32
Harpesfield, Dr. Nicholas, vill, 44-5
Harrington, Jeremy, 218
Harrison, Fr. John, 127-8
Harrison, 'William, 64, 65, 149, 18 3
Hart, Nicholas, 161-2
Hart, Fr. William, 126, 183;
address in Latin to Pope Gregory
XIII, 183-4
Harvey, Dr. Wïlliam, 200
Hatton, Edward, 156
Hawkins, Henry, 165
Hawkwood, Sir John, 29
Haydock, George, 126, 127, 148,
150
Haydock, Richard, 71, 148; ac-
count of the rebellion at the
English College, 71 seq.
Healey, John, 158
Heath, Fr. Paul, 145
Heathe, Thomas, 128
Henry II, of England, 21
Henry III, of England, 3 n. 7
Henry VII, of England: a member
of the Confraternity of the Holy
Spirit, 24, 49; intervention of,
in the affairs of the English
Hospice, 47-8, 49; offers obedi-
ence to Pope Julius II, 48
Chapel of, in Westminster
Abbey: statue of Aristotle
in, 271
Henry VIII, of England : work of,
on the Seven Sacraments against
Luther presented to Leo X, 51;
suppression of Yorkshire monas-
teries by, 55; Dr. Hilyard's
History of the Divorce of, 55;
mentioned, 46, 49, 50, 54, 269,
27 0 , 27 1
Henry IV, Emperor, 20
Henry V, Emperor, 20
Henshaw, Henry, 59, 60, 61, 64,
66, 67, 68, 69
Heptonstall, George, 218
Hildebrand (Gregory VII), 4
Hildesley, Thomas, 187-8
Hill, Mr. G. F.. cited, 267, 269
282
Hill, Richard, 131
Hill, Thomas, 159-60: A Quarter-
nion of Reasons, 160
Hilyard, Dr. Richard, 55, 56
Hinsley, Mgr., Rector of the English
College, 267
Hippisley, Sir John Coxe, 206,
208
Hogg, James, 131
Holiday, Richard, 13 1
Holland, Francis, 161
Holland, Dr. Seth (Dean of \Vorces-
ter), 57
Holling, Dr. (of Lancashire), 196
Holstenius, Lucas, 200
Holt, Fr. \ViIIiam, S.J., 64, 65, 81,
89,9 0
Holtby, Fr., 159
Holy Land, loss of: effect on pil-
grimage to Rome, 26
Honorius III, Pope, 22 n. 2
Horner, Nicholas, 13 1
Hospices of the European peoples
in Rome, 26
Hospital of the Holy Ghost. See
S. Spiritus.
Houghton, Lord (Monckton Milnes),
23 8
Howard, Edward, 250
Boward, Philip Thomas, Cardinal:
account of, 168-70; becomes
Cardinal Protector of the English
College, 169; rebuilds the Eng-
lish College and its church, 169,
170, 19 0
Hubert, Mr. J. A., cited, 270
Budd, Fr. John, 163
Hugh, Bp. of Geneva, builds a
church at Bourg St. Pierre, 16
Hughes, contentious student, 81
Hülsen, cited, 92 n., 267, 268 n. t ,
270 n. t
Hungarian quarter in Rome, 15
Hunt, Thurston, 137
Husenbeth, Dr., 233
Hyde, Leonard, 149; Peter, 149
INA, king of the "Vest Saxons, 8;
visit to Rome, 8 and n. t ; founds
Schola Anglorum, 8, 9, 10, 12;
builds a church in honour of the
Blessed Virgin Mary, 8, 9, 14 n. lI :
institutes Peter's Pence, 9 and n. 1
Inge, Dr. Hugh (Abp. of Dublin),
39, 49
Ingram, John, 135-6
Innocent III, Pope, 21; founds the
Hospital of S. Spiritus, 2 I and
n. 3 , 22; establishes an honorary
confraternity in connection with
the hospital, 23, 24; the frescoes
INDEX
of, in the Sacristy of S. Spirito,
25; mentioned, 14
Innocent VI, Pope, 28, 43
Innocent X, Pope, 168
Innocent XI, Pope, establishes
episcopal government in Eng-
land, 171
Innocent XII, Pope, 17 1
Ireland, preservation of Catholic
Hierarchy in: contrast with
England, 114
JAMES I, of England, 141, 142, 149,
154, 157; collection of M55., 200
James II, of England, 170, 171-2
James III, of England, 190
James, Edward, 129-30
Jansenist troubles: effect of, on the
English College, 170, 171
Jennings, Edmund, 131
Jesuits: connection with the
English College, 66, 67, 69, 70,
113, 207; attitude to dissensions,
69-7 0 , 7 1 , 7 2 , 113: assume ad-
ministration, 75, 7 6 , 79, 113, 114;
insinuations against their rule,
81, 89, 114: participate in the
English Mission, 76, 81-3; desire
to withdraw from direction of
the College, 71, 90, 95, 9 8 , 113:
defence against accusations of
mismanagement, 95; maintained
in government, 97 seq., 102, 110;
secular distrust of, 112, 114;
their rule of the College con-
sidered, 113-14: suppression of,
17 6 , 177, 205 n.
Account of Confessors of the
English Mission, 148, 167
John, King, of England, 15, 22
and fl.!, 23 n. 2
John VII, Pope, II, 13
John XV, Pope, 18
John of the Cell (Monk of St. Al-
bans) quoted, 8-g
Jones, Richard, 2 I 8
] ones, Thomas, 2 I 8
Jubilee, practice of celebrating the
year of, revived, 26
Julius II, Pope, 48
Julius III, Pope, 56, 58
] upiter Penninus, temple of, 17
and n. 1
KAVANAGH, \Villiam, 214, 215
and n. 1
Kearns, John, 214, 218
King, Dr. (Protestant Bp. of Lon-
don), 140, 141, 152
Kirby, Fr. Luke, 83, 124
Kirk, john, of Salop, 205 and n.
Kirton, Thomas, 59, 61
Knight {Knecht ?}, Roger, 32
Knott, William, 59
Kochnitzky, M. Léon, cited. 268
Kyan, Rev. Mr., account of Dr.
Wiseman's last years in Rome as
Rector, 239 seq.
LACEY, Fr. William. 126
Lacy, John, 33, 4 2
Lamennais, A bbé, 2 I 7
Lampton, Joseph, 133
La n ciani, Prof., cited on Anglo-
Saxon coins found in Rome, II
Lancisiana, Biblioteca, 24
Langobardorum immanitas, the, as
a danger of the" Rome journey,"
4
Lascelles, John, 142-3
Lasenby, Thomas, 48
Lathom (John Almond), 140-1
Lea, John, 189
Leeds, Duchess of, 260
Legenda, 169
Leigh, Richard, 129
Leo III, Pope, contemporary bio-
grapher of, II
Leo IV, Pope: builds the Leonine
City, 13, 14, 19 n. t ; assists to
quell fire in the English quarter,
13; rebuilds the Church of our
Lady, 14 and n. 2 ; gives presents
to the English Schola, 14, 19 n. t ;
reserves righ t of choosing the
Archpriest of the Schola, 19 and
n t .; fresco of, in the Sacristy of
S. Spirito, 25
Leo IX, Pope, 3, 19 nn. t and 3.
Leo X, Pope, 51,57
Leo XII, Pope, 225, 226, 231; visit
to Monte Porzio, 219; benevo-
lence of, Dr. Gradwell quoted on,
21g-21
Leo XIII, Pope, founds the Collegio
Beda, 249
Leonine City, the, 13, 20; English
quarter in, 15
Lewis, David, 146, 189
Lewis, Morgan, 146
Lewis, Dr. Owen, Bp. of Cassano:
account of, 62, 84, 93; connec-
tion with founding of the English
College, 62 et seq., 93; obtains
appointment of Dr. Clenock as
Rector, 63, 66, 67, 68, 69; obtains
pensions for chaplains of the old
Hospice, 69 ; vicws of the
6tudents as to, 70; attitude to
the rebellious English students.
72, 74; his efforts to secure the
office of Custos of the Hospital
INDEX
283
for Dr. Clenock, 74; friendship
with Cardinal Allen, 7 6 , 93 ;
accusa tions against, in Cardinal
Sega's report, 93-4, 95; attitude
of students to, on Cardinal
Allen's decease, 94; buried in
College chapel, 94; benefactions
to the College, 94; masses for,
94
Liber Fraternitatis S. Spiritus et S.
Jr!arie in Saxia de Urbe, quoted.
24 and n. t
Liber Ruber, the, cited, 56
Ligorio, P., fakes by, based upon
the portrait-plaque of Aristotle,
268 n. t
Lilly, George, 42, 56
Linacre, Dr. Thomas, associa tion
of, with the English College, 3B-9
Line, Henry, 29
Lingard, Rev. John, 207
Lister, Thomas, 151
Listoire des Engles quoted, 12-13
and 13 n. t
Litta, Cardinal, 206, 207, 213
Littleton (Gunpowder Plot con-
spirator), 139
Lobb. Jasper, 97
Lockwood, Christopher, 142
Lockwood, John, 142-3
Logan, Dr., 233
Lomas, James, 127
Lombard, John, 45
Lombards, Schola of the, 12, 15
Losthouse, John, 4 2
Lowe, John, 64, 66, 127
Lucius III, Pope, forbids pilgrimage
to Rome, 20
Lutheranism: speech by Bp. Clerk
on presenting to Leo X Henry
VIII's work against Luther, 51
L ydga te, John: a MS, of his poetical
works given to the English Col-
lege. 20 I
MACAULAY, Lord, visit to Rome
and the English College. 228, 24 2 .
243
Macbeth. King, visit of. to Rome,
18
McIntyre, Bp., Rector of the
English College, 266, 267
Macpherson, Rev. Paul, Rector of
Scots College, 180
Maddon, John, 218
Mai, Cardinal, 224, 230, 238
Maitland, Bp. of, 263
Malabranca, Senator Angelo, de-
cree of, in protection of pilgrims.
27
Mallet. Thomas, 187-8
28 4
Manning, Abp.: quoted on Cardinal
Wiseman's lrfeditations, 242; on
visit to Wiseman as Rector of the
Venera bile, 242-3; desire for
improvement in ecclesiastical
education, 256; scheme for re-
organising the Venerabile, 257,
258; favours the rebuilding of
the Church of the College, 258,
262, 265; mentioned, 245
Marcellus, Pope, 58
Marinus, Pope, 12, 13 n. 1
Marshall, Fr. Joseph, 172
Martin, Dr. Gregory, 64, 66, 69;
Roma Sancta cited, 43
Martyrs, English, of the College
alumni: account of, 118 seq.;
relics of, 125, 126, 129-30, 135;
relics of, used in the consecration
of altars, 122; pictures of, on the
walls of the College Church, 122
Mary, Queen (of England), 54, 55, 58
Mary, Queen of Scots, 61
Mascherino, 14
Mass, celebrants of, in England
punished by penalties attached
to high treason, 132
Maynooth College, founded, 179
Mercurianus, Fr., General of the
Society of Jesus, 67, 75, 81
Meredith, Jonah, 149
M1co, Edmund, 145-6
Middleton, J. H., cited, 271
Middleton, Hobert, 137
Milner, Rev. John, 207, 209
Milnes, Monckton (Lord Hough-
ton), 238
Milton, John, visit of, to Rome,
191 n., 196, 200
Mohun, Fr. See Cornelius, john.
Moleyns (or Molyneux), Adam, of
Chichester, 32, 42
Molineux (John Almond), 140-1
Montague, Lord, 197
Monte Porzio, 116, 246; visit of
Pope Leo XII to, 21g-20
Monteith, Mr., 260
Montford, Francis, 158
Moore, Hugh, 129
Morcelli, De stilo inscriþtiomm
Latinaf'um, cited, 202 n.
More, Mary, 201
More, Blessed Sir Thomas, 122, 162;
A Tragedy of the Blessed Thomas
More, 190
More, Thomas (Confessor), 162
Morgan, Fr. Edward, 143-4
Morgan, Thomas, 88
Morone, Cardinal Protector, 62;
requests Jesuit fathers to super-
intend studies at the English
INDEX
College, 66, 67; attitude to
rebellion of students in the Col-
lege, 70, 71 seq.; death, 87; men-
tioned, 75, 76, 152
Moroni, Cappella Pontificia, 18g-90
Morse, Fr. Henry, S.J., 144, 166
Morton, Dr. Nicholas, 59, 60, 61,
74
Morton, Robert, 128-9, 199
Munden, John, 127
Murray's Rome quoted, 193 n.
Mush, John, 64, 66, 71, 83
NAPOLEON, 203, 204
National CoIleges, the, placed under
superiors of their own nation-
ality, 17g-80; Sir John Coxe
Hippisley quoted on government
of, 206
Naylor, WiIliam, 160
Nelson, Elijah, 164-5
Neri, St. Philip, 83, 118
Neve, Dr., Rector of the English
College, 256, 257, 258, 262, 264,
266
Neville family, 197
Neville, Edmund, 164-5
Neville, Sir John, 59
Newman, Cardinal, 83, 236
Newport, Richard, 139-40
Nicholas IV, Pope, 23 n. 1
Nichols' Collectanea TopograPMca
cited, 41 n. 1 , 44
Nicolai, Mgr., 228, 23 1 , 254
Norfolk, Cardinal of, 170. See
Howard, Cardinal.
Norfolk, Duchess of, 260
Norfolk, 6th Duke of, 200
Norman Conquest of England, the,
20; effect on communication
with Rome, 20
Norris, Sylvester, 158
Norway, Catholicity in, 114
Nutter, Robert, 137
OATES Plot, the, 145, 146, 166
Oblate Congregation, 256
O'Callaghan, Dr., Rector of the
English College, 205, 25 6 , 257,
25 8 ,266
Offa, King of the Mercians, 7-8, 10;
foundation of Schola Anglorum
attributed to, 8 n. t , 10, II n. t
Oldcorne, Fr. -Edward, 138, 139,
151, 152, 155, 158, 161
Oliver, Dr., cited, 43; quoted, 155
Oratory Fathers, the, 95
Orsini, Fulvio, Imagines et Elogia,
268
Oswin, King of Northumbria, 7
Ottoboni, Cardinal Legate, 23 n. 1
Our Lady in Sassia, Church of.
See under S. Maria in Sassia.
Owen, Christopher, 73
Owen, Br. Nicholas, 138
PACCA, Cardinal, 190,217,218
Pace, Dr. Richard, 50
Page, Fr. Francis, S.J., 13 8
Painting, Rome and the art of, 3
Paleotti, Cardinal (Abp. of Bologna),
80, 119
Palmer, John, 30-1
Palmer, Polidore, 131, 132
Panzani, Dom Gregory, 200
Papacy, the, and the Empire:
dissensions between, as a danger
of the" Rome journey," 4-5
Paris, Matthew, quoted on founding
of the Schola Anglorum, 8, 14;
on institution of Peter's Pence,
9; on Offa II, of Mercia, 10 and
n. t , II n. t
Parsons, Fr., letter of, to Dr. Allen
on the insurrection at the Eng-
lish College, 75-6, 81; anxiety
on account of insinuations against
Jesuit rule in the College, 81;
urges sending of Jesuit priests to
the English Mission, 76, 81;
offers himself for the mission
in India, 81; participates in the
English :Mission, 81, 83, 123; on
the farewell visit of missioners
to St. Charles Bo rrom eo , 84;
Rector of the English College,
89, 90; opposes withdrawal of
Jesuits from direction of the Col-
lege, 90; publishes his Conference
about the Next Succession, 96-7;
attitude to desire of English
clergy for Bishops, 104, 105;
enquires into dissensions at the
College, 107 et seq.; work of, in
removing Causes of dissension,
108, 109-I I; appointed Rector
in 1598 . . " III; death, 188;
funeral sermon, 188; Latin poem
in memory of, 188
Mentioned, 55, 68, 9 1 , 114, 121,
124, IÚI, 162, 188, 198, 214
Pascal, John, 79-80, 83 and n.
Paschal I, Pope, 9, 11-12, 25
Paston family, 196
Paul I, Pope, funeral of, I In.-
Paul III, Pope, 14, 53, 54, 57, 58
Paul IV, Pope, 55, 57, 58
Paulet, George, 189
Pede, Dr. Richard (Dean of Here-
ford), 42
Pellegrini, Via dei, 26
Pepys, cited, 169
INDEX
285
Percy, John, 157
Peter, Cardinal Deacon of St.
Eustachius, 20-1
Peterborough, 14-IS
Peter's Pence, institution of, 9 and
n.t, 14
Peto, William, "Bishop of Salis-
bury," 54-5, 56
Petre, Bp., statement of position
and needs of the English Mission.
174
Petre, Lord, 261
Piccolomini, Æneas Silvius (Pope
Pius II), 47 n.
Piccolomini, Francis Tedeschini
(Pope Pius III), 47 n.
Pigot, Fr., lú4
Pilgrim Book of the English Hos-
pice, 44, 14 0 , 149, 191, 194 seq.;
distinguished pilgrims, 195 seq.
Earlier lists of pilgrims, 44,
194; curious entries in, 45
Later book, a, 195, 201
Pilgrimage to Rome. See under
heading II Rome journey," the.
Pio, College of the, 249-51, 266
Pitt, Arthur, 150, 183
Pitts, 73
Pius IV, Pope, 58, 59
Pius VI, Pope, 179, 203
Pius VII, Pope, 190, 203, 212, 253;
restores the Suppressed Institu-
tions,20s
Pius VIII, Pope, 231, 232
Pius IX, Pope, 193 n., 248, 258,
262, 26S
Plasden, Oliver, 131, 132
Platt, Robert, 218
Plays acted by students of the Eng-
lish College, 190-1
Plunkett, Bp., of Meath, 204 1t. 1
Polding, Abp., 263
Pole, Cardinal, appointed Custos of
the Hospice, 54, 55; his account
book of the English Hospice, 44,
55; nearly elected Pope, 56-7;
otherwise mentioned, 57, 59,
92 n., 197, 269, 270
Pole, Sir Geoffrey, 149, 19 ú , 197
Pollen, Rev. Fr., Institution of the
Archpriest Blackwell, quoted, 103
Polton, Bp. Thomas, of Chichester,
3 2
Poor, the Father of the (Rev. David
Lewis), 146
Pormont {Portmore, Thomas) ,I 32-3
Pounde, Br. Thomas, IÚ2
Poynter, Dr., 207, 209, 214
Preaching: inauguration of the St.
Stephen's Day sermon in tho
Sistino Chapel, 185
286
Prior, Mgr., cited, 193 n.
Probert, Fr. Hugh, 183
Pugh, Henry, 156-7
Pugin, Edward, 261-2
Purbeck, Viscount, 157
Pyne, Robert-at-. See de Pin ea.
Pynings, Henry, 56
RAND, Thomas, 161
Raphael, painting of the rr Inccndio
del Borgo" by, cited, 13-14
Rawlin, John, 45
Rawlins, Fr. Henry, 136
Reading (Edward Bamber), 145
Ricci, Fr. Laurenzo, S.J., imprison-
ment of, 177
Ricciardi (or Richards), 'Villiam, 28
Richards, Dr., 245, 246
Richardson, Laurence, 125
Riddell, William, 218
Rishton, Edward, 64, 65, 83, 149-
50; Diary of Events in the Tower
of London, 65, ISO
Roberts, Griffith, 59
Roberts, Ven. John, 139
Robinson, Francis, 159
Robinson, John (of Femsby,
Yorks.), 159
Robinson (or Taylor), John, 166
Rochester, Thomas, 166
Rock, Daniel, 214, 21S, 218
RoUensis: a play relating the trial
and martyrdom of Bd. John
Fisher, 191
Rogers, Thomas, 166
Roman lodging-house keepers in
the Middle Ages, 27
Rome: attitude of the barbarians
in Europe to, changed by the
spiritual power put forth from
the City, 2; civilising effect of
the .. humanity" of, 3-4; Eng-
lish residents in, form an organ-
ised community, II; .. dark
days" of, 16; the quarrels be-
tween the Emperors and the
Popes, 19-20; the endeavours to
establish a republic in, 20; the
Popes leave Rome, 20; interdict
of Hadrian IV . . .,20; sack of,
51 et seq.; English Society of, in
1644-5 . . ., 191 n. 1 ; attempt to
revolutionise, 203; proclamation
of the Roman Republic, 203;
occupied by French troops, 204;
annexed to the French Empire,204
English Colony in. See under
heading Schola Anglorum.
National churches in, 259 n. l ,
and see undey names 01
Chuycnes.
INDEX
Pilgrimage to. See .. Rome
journey," infra.
Reminiscences of Rome quoted,
19 2 -3
II Rome journey," the: the first
Christian Englishman to make,
2 ; English pilgrimage to Rome
before end of seventh century, 3;
humanitas as the object of, in the
Middle Ages, 3, 4; difficulties and
dangers of, 4-6; regularity of, in
mediæval times, 6; evil character
of some pilgrims, 7; interest of
Anglo-Saxon rulers in, 7-8; con-
tinued during Rome's .. dark
days," 16, 18; Itinerary of
Sigeric, Abp. of Canterbury, 16-
18; pilgrimage forbidden, 20;
effect of Norman Conquest on
English pilgrimage, 20; effect of
loss of the Holy Land, 26; the
great concourse of peoples at
Jubilee of 1350 . . ., 26; record
of pilgrimage in the sixteenth
century, 44, 4S; effect of the
defection of Henry VIII on
pilgrimage, 53
Romescot, the, 9
Rosse, Lord, 80
Rovere, Cardinal, 172
Rush, John, 218
SACHEVERALL (apostate), 158
Sackville, Sir RIchard, 60
Sackville, Thomas (Earl of Dorset),
60
Sailors received at the English
Hospice in the sixteenth century,
45
St. Bernard Pass, the, 16-17; Early
English coins found in, 17 n. l
St. Boniface (Apostle of Germany),
quoted on English pilgrimage to
Rome, 3; on bad character of
some women pilgrims, 7
Sta. Caterina della Ruota, Church
of, 28
St. Chrysogono, Church of, 3 1 , 33,
34
St. Chrysogonus: the Trastevere
Hospice dedicated to, 3 1 , 35
St. Edmund the King: hospital of,
33 n. 5 ; the chapel of Trastevere
Hospice dedicated to, 33, 34-S,
258-9; picture of the patron
saint in the English College
Church, 34
St. Eustachius, Peter, Cardinal
Deacon of, 20
S. Joannis in Nono, 17
St. John, parish of, near Veii, 17
St. Justin. Church of. 15
St. Laurenzo in Damaso, 43
St. Lawrence in Lucina (or in
Craticula), Church of. 18
S. Maria in Cosmedin, 10
S. Maria in Sassia, Church of. 8. 9,
18; rebuilt by Leo IV . . .. 14
and n. II; subsequent repairs and
alterations to, 14; façade, 14;
an altar in. consecrated by Calix-
tus II . . ., 19; stricken with
poverty, 20; the name falls out
of use. 21, 22; site now occupied
by Church of S. Spirito, 9, 24-5
St. Mary and St. Catherine. Church
of, 28
St. Mary Major. 85
St. Michael, Church of. in the Borgo,
15 and n. s
St. Orner. Jesuit College of, 115,
17 6
St. Paul's-outside-the- Walls: Anglo-
Saxon coins discovered in, I I
St. Peter's: bronze gates of, 269
St. Peter's, old: epitaph of Cæd-
walla in portico of, 7; thrcatened
by fire, I I, 12; basilica of, sacked
by Saracens, 13; vicw of. in
approaching Rome, 17; the
Canons of, empowered to deal with
abuses by Roman lodging-house
keepers, 27 and n. 1
San Salvatore, Church of. 15
S. Saviano, Abbey of, 85, 100. 20 4
S. Silvestro in Capite, Church of.
190
S. Spirito in Sassia, Church of, 9,
14 n. lI , 24; picture of our Lady
in, 9; the indulgences to be
gained there, 23 n. II
Sacristy of. 10. 24-5, the
frescoes in, 10, 25
St. Spiritus, Hospital of, 21-2 ;
partly endowed by England, 22-
3 and 23 n. 1 ; indulgences to be
gained there. 23 and n. 2 ; not the
counterpart of the Schola Anglo-
rum. 23; subsequent connection
with England. 23; an honorary
confraternity established in con-
nection with. 23. 24; reconsti-
tuted, 23. 24; the Liber Frater-
nitatis S. Spiritus. 24 and n. 1
St. Stephen's Day sermon in the
Sistine Chapel, the. 185, 187;
custom of, revived. 216
St. Thomas of Canterbury. See
Becket.
St. Thomas of Canterbury, Church
of. See under English College.
St. Valentine, Church of. 18
INDEX
28]
St. Victoria. Priory of, 85, 100
St. Wilfrid of Hexham, 2, 3
Salisbury, Countess of, 197
Salmon, Patrick, 134
Sampson, monk. of Bury St.
Edmunds: account of a journey
to Rome, 4-5
Sander's History oj the E'Hglish
Schism, 55, 65, 15 0
Sandori, Cardinal, 89
Saracens, the, as a danger of the
Rome journey, 4; raid Rome in.
846 . . '. 12, 13; cruelties of. to
pilgrims recorded in an inscrip-
tion in Church at Bourg St.
Pierre, 16 and n. s .
Sassia, the Saxon burg in Rome, 15
Saulnier, Fr. Pierre, De caPite S.
Ordinis S. Spiritus, cited, 24 and
n. l , 25
Saviano, Abbey of, 85, 100, 204
Saxia, the Saxon burg in Rome, 15
II Saxons, Postern Gate of the."
14
Schola Anglorum, the: foundation
of, 8. 9, 10; work of Ina for, 8-9;
indebtedness to OHa II, 8 n.!, 10,
II n. l ; financial support from
England for, 9, 10. II, 14; con-
nection with Peter's Pence, 9
and n. l , 14; modelled on Schola
of the Greeks, 10; situation of,
10, 15; organised in the year
800 . . ., I I ; burned in the reign
of Paschal I . . " 11-12, 25;
damaged in Saracen raid, 12, 13;
damaged by fire in pontificate of
Sergius II . . " 12; repaired by
Ethelwulf, 12, 25; first enfran-
chisement of, 12-13; freedom
from taxation and obligations
obtained for, 13; again damaged
by fire, 13; work of Pope Leo IV
for, 13-14,25; the ., Postern Gate
of the Saxons:' 14; in the ninth
ccntury, 14; furnishes quota of
militia, 14 ; the largest of the
foreign scholæ, 15; a place of
refreshment for pilgrims, I, 18.20.
22; interest of the Popes in, 18-
19; the choice of .. supreme ..
director of, reserved to the Popes.
19; dependence on the canons of
St. Peter's, 19; payment of dues,
19; allowed the privilege of a
cemetery, 15, 19,46; damaged in
the struggles with the Emperors,
20; decay of, on decrease of pil-
grimage to Rome, 20, 21; the
Pope appeals to the English
Church for help for, 8. 20; its
288
buildings reconstructed and
turned into a hospital, 21 seq.
Schola, foreign, raided by the
Saracens in 846 . . ., 13
Schola Francorum: situation of,
IS, 26; cemetery of, the burial
place of foreign pilgrims, IS, 19
Schola Frisonum, IS
Schola of the Lombards, IS
Scot, Fr. William, 140
Scotland: poor clergy in, sub-
sidised by Government, 179
Scots, the, and the English during
schisms of the Middle Ages, 4
Scots College, 180, 204 n. 2
Scott, Edith, 41; Edward, 48
Scott, John, 218; Thomas, 41
Scratton, Mr., 2S0
Sea, the, as a danger of the " Rome
journey," 6
Sega, Cardinal, Visitation of the
English College by, 88, 96; Acts
of Visitation, 88 seq.; account of
students and revenue, 90; results
in expulsion of some students,
9 0 ; second Visitation, 92; report
on the disturbances considered,
93 seq.; statement of students'
grievances, 94-S; the Cardinal's
view that Jesuits should not be
withdrawn from the College, 97;
recommends diminution in num-
ber of students, 99-100, 102, 103;
account of College life and tem-
poral administration, 100-2; on
causes contributing to disturb-
ance, 102; suggestions of, adopted
102
Sellyng, Prior, 38
Sergius II, Pope, 12
Sermons, Disputations and: ac-
count of participants given in
the Archives of the English
College, 181 et seq.
Seton, John, 59, 60
Sharples, John, 214, 21S, 218
Shepherd, Alice, 28, 29
Shepherd, John, 28, 29, 30
Sherborne, Dr. Robert (Bp. of
Chichester), 40, 47, 4 8 , 49
Sherson (or Sherton), Martin, 128
Shert, John, 124
Sherwin, Fr. Ralph, imprisonment
of, 120-1; martyrdom of, 123-
4; mentioned, 64, 6S, 83, 84, 181
Shireburn family, 196
Shirley, Ralph, 181
Shirley, Dr. Richard, SI
Shortland, student, 2S0
Shrewsbury, Lord, 243 ""I""f
Sicklemore, Humphrey,
158-9
INDEX
Sigeric, Abp. of Canterbury: his
I tinerary of journey to Rome
in the" dark days," 16-18
Simpson, Edmund CamPion, cited,
83 n., 84 and n,l
Singleton (Edward Morgan), 143-4
Sixtus IV, Pope, 14, 24, 2S, 39
Sixtus V, Pope, adds façade to
Church of S. Maria in Sassia, 14;
appoints Commission to enquire
into disturbances at the English
College, 88; summons Dr. Allen
to Rome, 89; withdraws annual
subsidy from the College, 90 ;
mentioned, 93, 13 0
Smith, George, 156
Smith, Richard, 139-40
Smith, Dr. Richard, second Vicar-
Apostolic in England, 114, 169
Smith, William, ISI
Sodality (English College) of the
Blessed Virgin: granted special
indulgences by Gregory XIII, 85
Soissons, Bp. of, 131
Somaglia, Cardinal, 2 I 3
Somerville, Mrs., 238
South cote (ot' Lea), John, 189
Southern, Fr., IS9
Southwell, Fr. Robert, S.J., 136
Southworth, Christopher, IS2
Southworth, Sir John, IS2; John,
15 2
Spencer, Fr. Ignatius, 232-3
Squarcioni, Don Accarizio, 104
Stafford, Arthur, 155
Stafford (or Stanford), Robert, 189
Standish, Dr. Henry, 4S-6
Stanford (or Stafford), Robert, 189
Stanney, Thomas, IS3
Staple, Adam, 29
Starkey, John, 163
Stephen IV, Pope, II
Stephens, Francis, 166-7
Stonor, Mgr. Christopher: quoted
on the choosing of Students to
be educated at the Venerabile,
176; on Cardinal Corsini's in-
tentions, 177; efforts of, to se-
cure government by English
superiors, 178, 179; mentioned,
253
Stonor, Edmund (afterwards Arch-
bishop), 250, 251, 262
Stowe, quoted on foundation of the
English Hospice, 29, 30; on the
provision for pilgrims a t the
Hospice, 43
Strong, Mrs" note on the Portrait
of Aristotle, 267 et seq.
Stubbs, Bp., 1'Ylemorials of St.
Dunstan, cited, 16
Succession in England, the, as
affecting the dispute at the
English College, 96-7
Supremacy, oath of, 145, 160
Sutton Valence, parish of (in Kent),
contributes to support of English
Hospice, 4 I
Sweden, Catholicity in, 114
Sweet, John, 163-4
Swinburne, Henry, 201, 202 n.; epi-
taph of his daughter in the
Church of the English College, 202
Sykes, Edmund, 198
TAILER, Edward, 59,61
Talacre, Robert, 59
Talbot, Mgr., Protonotary Apos-
tolic: project of the Collegio
Ecclesiast-ico, 249, 250; becomes
Pro-Protector of the English
College, 256, 258; attitude to
Dr. Neve, 256; suggests placing
the English College again under
Jesuit direction, 257; proposes
appointment of Fr. O'Callaghan,
258; work for rebuilding the
Church of the College, 258 seq.
Tandy, Dr., 238
Tasker, Miss, 260
Taylor, John, 166
Taylour, Dr. Edmund, 59, 61, 64
Tempest, Edward, 157-8
Tempest, Robert, 155
Tesimond, Oswald, 152
Testa, Abbate, 228
Testa, Mgr., 228, 229
Thedder, William, 150
Thimelby, Matthew, 189
Thirkeld, Blessed Richard, 122
Thorfinn, Earl of Orkneys, effect
of the II humanity" of Rome
on, 3-4 .
Thornborough, Bp. of Worcester, 164
Thornham, Sir John, 29
Throckmorton, Edward, account of
his life and death, 181-2; his
sermon in the College Refectory,
181, 185
Throckmorton, Michael, 54, 56
Thulis (or Thules), Christopher, 150
Thulis (or Thules), John, 141-2, 151
Thwaytes, Richard, 33
Thwing, Edward, 136-7
Tichbourne, Fr., 105; Thomas, 138
Tierney, Canon, on the dispute at
the English College, quoted, 95-6;
on the arrest of Bishop and
Charnock, 105; cited, 110
Tilney, Anthony, 164
Tippets, John, 119-20, 151-2
Tolentino, Peace of. 203
INDEX
289
Toleto, Cardinal, 91, 98, 102
Tracy, -, custos of the English
Hospice, 37
Trapozuntius, Georgius, 269
Trastevere, English Hospice, 31.
3 2 ; the original fou
ders of, 3 I ;
names of brethren of, 32; con-
nection with the earlier founda-
tion in the Via Monserrato, 32-3,
36; chapel of St. Edmund added
to, 33, 34-5, 258-9; other endow-
ments, 33; makes loans to the
establishment of St. Thomas, 33;
dedication of, 35; account of
property and management, 35;
vineyards of, 35 ; union with
Hospice of St. Thomas, 3 6 , 37
Trent, Council of, 54
Trollope, I I I
Tunis, Crown Prince of, 196
Turnbyll, Richard, 201
Turner, William, 218
Twiford, J o11u, 29
Tyrrel, Anthony, 129
ULLATHORNE, Bp., quoted on Bp.
Grant, 247-9
Urban VIII, Pope, 189
Urry, John, Prebendary of Lincoln,
3 2
U rswick, Christopher, 46
VAl, Stephen, 25
Varley, Rev. Robert, 213
Vaughan, Herbert (Cardinal), 265
Vaux family, the, 159
Vavasour, Mr., 154
Vavasour, Sir Thomas, 197
Verstigen, Richard, 198
Vespignani, Signor, 261, 262
Vico, Enea, portrait-plaque of Aris-
totle by, 268
II Vicus Saxonum," the, 10
Vincenzo: octogenarian porter, 211
Vitelleschi, Fr., S.J " 91, 151
Vitelleschi, Mgr., 250
\VALES, James Edward Francis,
Prince of, 169
Walker (or Bentley), Henry, 188
Wall, Fr. John, 145
Walpole, Fr. Henry, S.J., 136
Walpole family, 196
Walsingham, 88
Ward, Bp., Eve of Cathohc Eman-
cipation,quoted, 207 et seq. passim
Ward, Wilfrid, Life of Cardinal
'Wiseman, quoted, 210 seq. passim
Ward, Fr. William, 167
Wardour Castle, siege of, 162
Warner, Dr. John, 45
290
Watkinson, Robert, 137-8
Weddisbury, Dam John, a.s.B..
tombstone of. 50
Weedall, Dr.. 233
Weld, Fr., S.J., 265
\Velles. John. Abbot (of Eggleston).
3 2
Wells, Swithun, 131. 132, 153
Welsh strangers entertained by the
English Hospice, 45. 195
Westminster Abbey: the Confes-
sor's tomb in, 3 n. 7
Westmoreland, Earl of, 197
Weston, Robert. Government spy.
154
Wharton, Thomas, 165
Whitall, Hugh. 159
White, Eustace, 131. 199
White (or Whyte, 01' Wight), John.
31, 32; establishes the Hospice
in Trastevere, 31, 36; establishes
a religious fraternity, 32, 40;
connection with Hospice of St.
Thomas, 32-3; builds a chapel
for Trastevere Hospice. 33 ;
death, 33
White. Rev. \Villiam, 213
Whithers, Walter, 29
Whittaker, Thomas, 145
Whittingham, William, 165
Widmerpool, Robert. 130
Wilcox, Robert, 130
Wilds. Rev. William, 207
Williamson, Edward, 163
Wilson (Robert Watkinson), 137-8
Winchester, Henry, Bp. of (brother
of King Stephen), cited, 3 n. 6
Windleront, Rübert, 29
Winter, Mr. (of Worcestershire), 199
Winter (01' Wintour), Robert. 199
Wisbeach, disputes of. II2
Wiseman, Cardinal, 209-10; first
impression of the English College,
210; received by Pius VII, 212;
successes as student, 214-15;
reputation as a scholar, 216;
preaches the St. Stephen's Day
sermon, 216; If publIc act JJ of,
216, 219; receives D.D. degree,
2 I 7; Vice-Rector of the English
College, 220, 254; Pro-Rector,
222, 223; confirmed as Rector,
223, 226, 227.254; scholastic and
ecclesiastical position in Rome,
223 seq., 239; his doings in Rome
noted in the Diario di Roma,
223 n.; friendship with Cardinal
Mai, 224-5; appointed Professor
of Oriental Languages, 225;
sermons preached in Rome, 226;
daily occupations at this period,
INDEX
228 seq.; Catholic Emancipation
rejoicings, 231; unsparing labour
at the College, 233; life at Monte
Porzio, 233-6; meets Newman
and Hurrell Froude, 236-7 and n. ;
contemplates transferring to Eng-
land, 237; lectures on Science
and Religion, 238-9; friends and
correspondents, 239; establishes
the Dublin Review, 239; last
years at Rome, 239 seq.; visited
by Lord Macaulay, Mr. Gladstone
and Dr. Manning, 242-4; ap-
pointed coadjutor to Bishop
Walsh, 244; and President of
Oscott College, 244; consecrated
as Bishop, 244, 247; farewell to
the English College, 244-6; life-
long affection for Rome and the
English College, 245-6; ap-
proval of the Collegio Ecclesi-
astico, 249-50; on the influence
of Rome and its College, 250;
on the appointment of Dr.
English, 251 seq.; anxiety re-
garding government of the
College, 251 seq.
Horæ Syriacæ, 223-4, 225, 227,
229; Meditations, 242; Re-
collections of the Last Four
Popes, 210, 212, 224-5, 226,
23 1
Impressions of, 239 seq.; his
versatility, 240-1; inter-
course with the students,
241-2; relations with the
Jesuits, 242; as a spiritual
counsellor, 242; paternal
affection for the young, 246
Otherwise mentioned, 205, 218,
256,258,260,262
Wissant, Witsand, 16 n.'
Witoff, Hugh. 159
Wolley, II I
Wolsey, Cardinal, 39, 50, 51
Woodcock (John Farrington). 144-5
Woodward, Philip, 152-3
Worthington, Dr.. President of
Douay College, 161, 163, 188;
Catalogue of Martyrs, cited, 15 8
Worthington. John, 161, 188
Worthington. Laurence, 161
Worthington, Richard (i), 188
Worthington. Richard (ii). 161. 188
Wrenno, Roger, 141
Wright, William, 153-4
Writtle (Essex), Church of. 23 n.'
Wynchcombe. Mr., 154
Y ATE. John, 157 and n.
Yelverton family, the. 196
Y nge, Hugh. See Inge
York, Cardinal of, 180
York, Duchess of, presents plate to
the English Hospice, 39, 46
Yorkshire: Fraternity of the Roman
Hospice in, 42
INDEX
291
Young. Francis. 161
Young, James (Government spy),
visits the English College, 198
ZURLA, Cardinal, 216. 217. 218.
219, 220. 228
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